The Professor's Daughter: Chamber of Secrets
by K-yers
Summary: When Calla Snape met Ginny Weasley at Diagon Alley, she never expected her life to take the drastic change that it did. And when the road gets rough, Calla must choose her loyalty to her new friend, or her fierce desire to make her father proud. Story is better than summary. Be warned: this is my first fanfic. Rated T just for safety.
1. 1: Making Friends

I stepped out of Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions with a brand new set of robes. I glanced down at my list for school supplies; I had to get my books next. I nodded and headed that way.

Unlike some people, I didn't mind being alone. I guess that came from being an only child. The kids in my neighborhood had always thought of me as odd. Even though they didn't always use those exact words.

I'll admit, it was weird being a witch and still living in a Muggle-neighborhood. And every time I ever asked my father, he just brushed the subject off.

My father's name was Severus Snape. He was the Potions professor at Hogwarts, the school I was going to finally go to. I was thrilled, not only because I was finally getting to go to school to learn about how to become a strong and powerful witch, but also because that meant I wouldn't have to stay at our neighbor's house this year. I was excited to go and get good grades and to, most importantly, make my father proud.

There was a large crowd in front of Flourish and Blotts. I tried to crane my neck to find a way in, but I was far too short. I hardly reached the shoulder of a plump redheaded witch in front of me. I huffed and began to wiggle my way past everyone.

I didn't manage to get to the front of the shop, but I did manage to find a place by a bookcase where another girl around my age was standing. She had red hair like the woman I saw earlier, and I vaguely wondered if they were related.

There was a man in the front of the shop with golden hair. I assumed he was the one who the racket was for. He was practically holding down a messy black-haired boy whose emerald eyes were peering through dusty round glasses.

"Who is that?" I asked, mostly to myself. To my surprise the red-haired girl beside me turned and answered: "That's Gilderoy Lockhart. I think he's supposed to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year at Hogwarts."

At the mention of that job, I stiffened. I have known all my life that the position at Hogwarts that my father wanted the most just so happened to be Defense Against the Dark Arts. And he had lost it again to this buffoon? I gave a snort of distaste and turned my attention to the poor boy Lockhart was pinning down to take pictures.

"And who's the boy with him?" I asked the girl again.

"That's Harry Potter," She said, getting a faraway dreamy look in her eye when she said his name. I stifled a laugh; someone has been shot with Cupid's arrow, I thought.

She turned again toward me and stuck out her hand. "I'm sorry; I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ginny Weasley."

I took her hand and gave it a firm shake. "I'm Calla Snape. This is going to be my first year at Hogwarts."

Ginny's eyes got wide. "It's my first year too! I'm so happy I found someone else. I was worried I'd have to stick my brothers for the whole year."

"You have brothers?" I felt an unknown spark of curiosity ignite inside me. Being an only child, I've never known what it was like to be woken up early in the morning on Christmas by a younger sibling, or what it was like to have an older sibling to protect me from bullies. It was a world I knew I'd never be a part of, but it was also something I wanted desperately.

Ginny nodded. "I have six of them." She noticed my expression and laughed. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

I shook my head. "Nope, just me and my daddy. He's a professor at Hogwarts you know."

"He is?" Ginny asked, her eyes wide. "That's so cool. My daddy works at the Ministry."

"Ginny!" We turned our heads to the plump redheaded woman from before. I was right; she was Ginny's mother. "It's time to buy our books." She noticed me and gave me a warm smile. "Hello dearie," She shook my hand hard. "I'm Mrs. Weasley, and you must be Ginny's new friend."

I nodded. "My name is Calla Snape." I said proudly. Mrs. Weasley's smile disappeared for a moment but then turned into a curious one. "Is Severus your father, sweetie?"

I nodded again, proud to be my father's daughter. Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by another redheaded boy and Harry Potter, who had managed to escape Lockhart.

Harry looked awkwardly at Ginny and forced the textbooks that Lockhart had given him into her hands. "Here Ginny, you keep these. I'll go get my own."

For the first time since I met her that day, Ginny Weasley was speechless. I gave a knowing smile and was the spotted by the red-haired boy in front of me. "Who are you?"

"Calla Snape," I answered. His eyes widened and he glanced to Harry beside him. They both looked at each other. I narrowed my eyes at them. "What?" I demanded.

"Nothing," Harry said, giving his friend a sharp look. "We just have Professor Snape as our Potions professor."

During the conversation, Mrs. Weasley had gone off, muttering something about getting her books signed. I hadn't noticed a pale blond head making its way down the stairs to where we were standing.

"Bet you enjoyed that, Potter." A tall boy with sleek white-blond hair and silver eyes sneered. "Famous Harry Potter can't even walk into a book shop without getting your face in the paper."

I narrowed my eyes and stood up to this bully. "Leave him alone," Despite being a head shorter than him, I stared into his pale eyes fiercely, daring him to go on.

He looked at me like I was a bug. "Oh look Potter;" he said cheerfully, "You got yourself a girlfriend."

I couldn't help the blush that crept up my face and I saw the same happen to Harry behind me. But at that moment, a tall man with the same white-blond hair as the boy in front of me. This man I recognized; he had visited the Snape household once or twice, for "business" reasons my father always said.

"That's enough, Draco." Lucius Malfoy leered, his voice just as cold as Draco's. He turned his icy gaze to me. "Good to see you again, young Calla. I hope you are finding your way around Diagon Alley alright."

"I'm doing well, thank you for asking." I said curtly; I didn't like Lucius that much to begin with, and his son was making fun of my new friends. I met his gaze as fiercely as I had met Draco's.

"Clearly," Lucius replied coolly. His gaze wandered over Harry, Ginny, and the brother (I had still not learned his name yet). "You might want to keep an open mind when it comes to friends," He picked up the hand-me-down books that were in Ginny's cauldron. "You don't want to end up with the wrong sort." He slammed them back inside her cauldron and looked down at Draco without another glance at me. "Come Draco," And then the two whipped out of the store.

"Calla," Ginny's voice brought me back, "Do you want to finish Hogwarts shopping with us?" I felt that spark again in my stomach; I didn't know it then, but that meeting in Flourish and Blotts not only landed me my first friend, but it started a chain of events that would teach me what real friendship and bravery was.


	2. 2: A Ride To Hogwarts

I struggled to keep a level head when I arrived on to Platform 9 3/4. It was just too busy! There were owls hooting at one another from between cages and children trying to get away from their parents. And just a few feet away was the scarlet train that would whisk me away to Hogwarts.

Like last week, when I went to buy my school supplies, I was alone. Dad had to be at Hogwarts early this morning, but he wrote a note telling me that he'd see me get sorted.

"Calla!" I turned, emerging from my thoughts as I heard a familiar voice call out to me.

I eventually spotted the bobbing red head of Ginny Weasley. She waved then jogged towards me. I left my trunk with a train workman and proceeded to meet her halfway.

"This is it, we're off to Hogwarts!" She squealed excitedly in my ear. Behind her, two identical gingers strolled up to stand on either side of Ginny. I assumed these were her other two brothers.

"Who's this now?" The one on the left asked. The other one looked me up and down. "She looks familiar."

"Calla, this is Fred," Ginny jerked her thumb to the twin on the left. "And that's George." She indicated the twin on the right.

"We can introduce ourselves, little sis." Fred said, in mock embarrassment. He stuck his hand out to me. "Why hello there miss. I am Fred of the Weasley clan."

"And I am George of the Weasley clan." George added, going into a bow so low his long nose almost touched the ground. "Would you be so kind as to allowing my less handsome twin and I escort you onto the train?" He glanced back up at me and wriggled his eyebrows.

I laughed and nodded. George then stood up as quick as a flash and twined his arm around mine. I quickly wound my arm around Ginny's so that she wasn't left behind and Fred took Ginny's other side. Together we strolled onto the train and occupied the first empty compartment we could find. But around ten minutes into the train ride, Fred and George left to find someone named Lee Jordan.

Ginny and I amused ourselves by playing twenty questions. But it mainly consisted of simple questions like what your favorite color and food was. At one point Ginny asked if I had ever kissed a boy, which I turned a deep shade of red and admitted to no. She laughed and told me not to worry, because she hadn't kissed one either. Then we laughed ourselves hoarse until the candy lady rolled up with her trolley. I bought some liquorice wands, chocolate frogs, and a packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. I shared all of it with Ginny, and we only stopped after getting slight stomachaches from eating an old-sneaker bean and a bean that tasted of a toilet brush.

It seemed that we were only on the train for a few minutes when a red-haired prefect burst in, scolding us for not already being in our robes. He told us that we were less than ten minutes away from Hogwarts, and then he stormed off, mumbling about not being able to find someone.

Ginny and I took turns getting dressed; we covered our eyes with our hands to avoid an awkward scene. All the while I felt a flutter of excitement: we were almost at Hogwarts! And I just _knew _that I was going to make my father proud.

When the train finally stopped, Ginny and I were ushered into a large group of other first years to take the boats up to Hogwarts. I could hardly contain my excitement that I didn't even mind it when a girl with dirty-blond hair was too busy gazing at the stars to not bump into me.

Ginny and I climbed into a boat with two other girls. One of them had dark red hair, but when I looked to Ginny she shrugged. So that wasn't another Weasley? Good; there were too many for me to keep up with any more.

We finally reached the castle that had stood so proudly over us as we had gotten closer. We were escorted into the castle and were greeted by a strict-looking woman who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall. She seemed like someone you didn't want to mess with.

"Now before I lead you into the Great Hall," McGonagall began, once we were all standing outside two massive doors. "You will go through our sorting ceremony. When I call your name, you will come to me, and I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head. The Sorting Hat will then decide which House you will be in."

"A _hat_?" The girl with auburn hair whispered in disbelief to a black-haired boy. "Brynden told me we had to take a test!"

"…You will either be sorted into Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. Now please, follow me." McGonagall finished. Then she turned and beckoned us to follow her. I swallowed my nerves and walked beside Ginny into the hall.

There were four long tables taking up most of the space in the hall. It took me a second to realize that each table represented a different House. You could tell which table belonged to which House; there was a green and silver banner above the far table to left for Slytherin, a yellow and black banner for the table next to it for Hufflepuff, an red and gold banner above the table next to Hufflepuff for Gryffindor, and a blue and bronze banner over the table to the far right for Ravenclaw. McGonagall led us first years between the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables to the front of the hall towards another long table where the staff sat. I instantly hungrily scanned the staff table for the familiar dark features of my father. Then I found him; he gave me a slight nod and smile to show that he saw me.

McGonagall halted us and continued to a stool with a tattered hat on top that was placed in the middle of the room. I watched as she conjured a long scroll and peered through her spectacles, reading the first name.


	3. 3: The Sorting

"Colin Creevey," A jittery-looking boy with mousy-brown almost tripped on his way up to McGonagall. She placed the hat on his head and, after a moment's pause it shouted "_GRYFFINDOR!_"

There were countless more names and by the time McGonagall got to the S's, I was bursting with impatience. Then finally:

"Calla Snape,"

A wave of muttering broke out among the older students after they heard my name. I ignored them and walked calmly to the Sorting Hat, even though I was dying to shove it on my head. So I sat on the stool and felt my heart thud inside my chest when McGonagall placed the hat over my eyes.

Almost instantly there was a voice whispering in my ear. _"Hm, interesting…You have a brave heart with courage pumping through your veins with every beat. But there is also a burning desire to prove yourself….very interesting…Maybe I should put you in Gryff—"_

No! I didn't want to imagine the look on my father's face if his only child got into the House he despised the most.

_"Interesting…" _The old hat purred into my ear. _"In that case, it better be SLYTHERIN!"_

The table on my far right erupted into applause as I took off the hat and handed it back to McGonagall. I past the rest of the first years, where Ginny was giving me a saddened look, to where the emerald and silver table were still congratulating me.

I took a seat next to a handsome boy with golden hair who had been sorted in the L's. He had a twin sister, who was sitting on his other side. She flashed me a forced smile; I noticed a gap between her teeth.

I continued to watch the rest of the first years get sorted; the auburn-haired girl was sorted into Hufflepuff and the short-black-haired boy she had been chatting with was sorted into Ravenclaw. Lastly came Ginny, who was sorted into Gryffindor. I didn't bother hiding my disappointment; I had been hoping Ginny and I could have been in the same House.

My disappointment was put on hold though; Professor Dumbledore stood from his throne-like chair to give us a few words. I honestly wasn't paying much attention for I was starting to get really hungry by now. But before I knew it, the platters in front of me were filled with foods of all shapes, sizes, and colors. I loaded my plate, at first ignoring the stifled laughs of the golden boy beside me. But after about five straight minutes of it, I lost it and turned towards him.

"What is it?" His emerald eyes blinked and he swallowed the mouthful of food that was inside his mouth.

"Nothing, I have just never seen anyone eat that fast. Especially a girl," He stifled another laugh but stopped when he saw my hurt expression. "Sorry, I'm Jaime Lewis. This is my sister, Cersei." He gestured over his shoulder where Cersei was giving me the stink eye. "And what's your name?"

"Calla Snape," I answered, shaking his hand.

"Oh, you're the professor's daughter." Jaime noted. I nodded, feeling proud, once again of my father. "Do you know where he is?" I stopped nodding and whipped around to look at the staff table and sure enough, Professor Snape wasn't there.

I shrugged at Jaime and we continued making small talk until neither of us could eat any more. Cersei was pointedly ignoring us by turning her back on Jaime completely. She was talking to an older girl with a squished face that made her look like a pug. Soon it was time to leave the hall for our common rooms.

Hufflepuff left the hall first, only to be followed closely by Ravenclaw. Both Slytherin and Gryffindor stood up at the same time and the Head Boys and Girls looked to be having an argument about who was going first. I took this time to abandon Jaime and weave around countless Slytherins 'til I found Ginny standing on the edge of the Gryffindors. She was talking to the jittery-looking boy who had been sorted into Gryffindor earlier in the evening.

"Ginny," I called, earning many glares from some older Slytherins. I ducked my face shyly and called Ginny again. This time she hears and walks over to me, despite the rising hostility of the older Slytherins.

"Hi, Calla." She said. "I'm sorry we didn't get to be in the same House."

"Me too," I said. In truth, I didn't completely know what it meant to have friends from other Houses, and in my case, especially when most of my friends were in Gryffindor. For all my Hogwarts years, it meant being an outsider in my own House. It meant not feeling any safer in my own dormitory than in a minefield. Usually it meant sitting alone whenever you ate or in class, if the teacher didn't allow you to have partners from other Houses. But if I could relive my life, I wouldn't change a single thing, because it had made me stronger.

"That doesn't mean we can't still be friends." I offered slowly. Ginny looked at me and smiled. Then we separated into our appropriate Houses.

**A/N: Thanks to Jellybeanlover2010 for being my first reviewer! :D Your review literally made my day. And I hope y'all are enjoying the story as much as I am writing it, I have lots of ideas for the story & I can't wait 'til I get there. :) That's all for now. **


	4. 4: Potions with Daddy

We were led into the dungeons where the Slytherin common room was. I found myself walking behind Jaime and Cersei. She kept glancing behind her shoulder to give me a glare. I ignored her; I was still too high off the fact that I was finally here.

The common room entrance was in the wall. Once opened it revealed a long hall with emerald lights shining out of lamps. There was a large fireplace surrounded by emerald couches. At the far end of the common room was a wide window that showed the bottom of the lake. I rubbed my eyes to make sure they weren't playing tricks on me. On either side of the window were stairs that led downward. I assumed that was the way to the dormitories.

The Head Boy confirmed my thoughts and told us that we might want to get some sleep because classes started tomorrow. I yawned, not realizing how tired I had become. I followed Cersei and another first year girl with light-brown hair. We entered the first year girls' dormitory and I noted the large six four-poster beds that circled the room. In front of four beds were our trunks. I immediately noticed that mine was the second one on the left. I sighed and walked in a trance-like state to the large bed. The curtains and covers were emerald. I quickly fished my pajamas out from my trunk and got dressed. Once I was completely ready for bed, I melted under the covers and fell into a deep sleep almost automatically.

I was woken up by the light-brown haired girl. "Wake up; it's almost time for breakfast." I grunted quick thanks and then hurried to get dressed into my Hogwarts robes.

I made the journey to the Great Hall alone. This was to be the first of many. When I reached the Great Hall I made a bee-line to the Slytherin table, which was already piled high with bagels, muffins, fruits, and a wide variety of juices.

I didn't notice Jaime until he plopped down in front of me. I gave him a closed smile, due to the fact that there was a half-chewed banana nut muffin in my mouth.

"So," He began loudly, "How did you sleep?" Jaime leaned his chin on his hands and watched me through sparkling green eyes.

"Pretty good actually," I said happily, managing to swallow my muffin. "And you?"

"The same," He plucked an apple from the table and took a large bite out of it. "Your dad should be coming out some time soon to give us schedules." I flinched away as bits of apple came souring from his mouth.

Almost as if summoned by Jaime's words, my dad stepped inside the hall and began conjuring schedules for everyone who came to him.

"Should we go get ours?" Jaime asked, still working on chewing his apple.

"It looks like he's coming this way," I noted. Sure enough, Professor Snape was heading directly towards us. I stood and began to walk towards him; Jaime noticed me and quickly stood up to follow.

"Hello Calla," Dad said in his deep voice. Most kids in the neighborhood at home thought his voice was creepy or something. I guess the only reason I was used to it was because I grew up listening to it.

"Good morning professor," I replied. Before Dad had departed for Hogwarts he had strictly informed me to call him either professor or Professor Snape. So the other students wouldn't think he was holding any favoritism towards me, he had told me. This is kind of silly if you ask me; I mean anyone could look at the two of us and know that we were related. We both had the same crow-black hair, the same skin tone, and the same tunnel-like eyes.

Dad waved his wand briskly through the air and my schedule was formed. Without glancing at it he plucked it from the air and handed it to me. "Here you are,"

"Thank you," I said, giving my head a faint nod. Say what you want about my father, he had raised me with manners. I walked away from him so I could look at my schedule. Jaime came up beside once he got his.

"We have Potions first," I told Jaime.

He peered curiously at our schedules, "With whom?"

"Um," I lined our schedules up with the other Houses. I felt my heart feel lighter. "Gryffindor!"

Jaime narrowed his eyes at my enthusiasm. I didn't pay attention; I got to do one of my favorite subjects with Ginny. Jaime and I then began the journey down to the dungeons, where Potions class was held.

Upon entering the classroom, I realized that only we and a few other Slytherins were here. I found a seat in the middle. Jaime made a move to sit by me but then Cersei came over asking her brother if he would sit by her. Jaime agreed hesitantly, giving me an apologetic glance. I gave him a nod, and he walked off with his sister to a table in the back corner.

We all waited about ten minutes before the Gryffindors finally showed. Ginny was the first in and right when she saw me, she waved. I waved back and she took the seat next to me. I happened to notice the other Slytherins and Gryffindors were giving us weird looks. A part of my mind told me it was because we were from rival Houses. I rolled my eyes; seriously just being in different Houses didn't mean people still couldn't be friends, right?

I didn't have any more time to contemplate on it because Dad burst into the classroom at that moment. I found myself sitting up straighter out of habit; Dad always hated it whenever I slouched in front of him.

"I'm not entirely sure what you all have heard," Dad began, in his deep and bored voice. "But there will be absolutely no dawdling in this class. If you somehow manage to disrupt my class for _any_ reason, it will result in you being forcefully removed from the class immediately." I swear he was looking right at Ginny when he was talking about the class being disrupted. Then I remembered Ginny telling me about Fred and George being pranksters.

"Calla!" I found myself jumping when my father snapped my name. "What color does a Boil Cure potion turn after you've added horned slugs?"

I remembered when I was younger, my Dad, being the chemistry nerd he was, drilled me on what potion does what and what ingredient you need for this. So, being a bit of a chemistry nerd myself, I answered immediately, "Blue, sir,"

"And tell me, what is the next step of that particular potion to make it turn red?" He asked with his eyes narrowing, as if daring me to get it wrong.

"Stir it counterclockwise, professor," I answered, louder and prouder this time. He gave a slight smile and nodded to me in what I hoped was acceptance.

"Today, you shall be brewing a Boil Cure potion. At the end of the hour, you will put your concoctions in a vial and I shall grade them overnight and give back your grades next time we meet. Now turn to page twenty-two in your books and begin."

I was right on top of the assignment the whole time. I made especially sure that all my measurements were correct and that my timing was well done. Dad had often drilled me to being close to perfect when it came to potions, and so, with my OCD-like ways, I tried until I was just that.

Unfortunately, beside me Ginny was having a difficult time. Her measurements for the crushed fangs were all wrong and she was beginning to get stressed out. I shot a glance at my dad; he wasn't paying attention. Instead he had his nose buried inside the latest issue of the _Daily Prophet_. So taking my chance, I moved closer to Ginny's cauldron and began whispering instructions.

She began to get better as I finished my instructions. She smiled thanks at me and I moved back to my spot and vialed up my already finished potion. I was the first done out of the whole class.

I had begun to stare off into space when I noticed Dad's eyes flicking from Ginny to me. I couldn't place his expression but I could tell it was the tiniest bit curious. Maybe he was wondering as to why I was sitting with a Gryffindor. That was probably it. I shrugged it off though when Dad noticed me looking and he stood up, asking for our potions.

Ginny added the last touches to hers and vialed it. After Dad collected ours we promptly started packing our things.

"That was interesting, don't you think?" Ginny asked once we got all of our stuff together.

"Yeah, it was a lot easier than I thought it'd be." I answered truthfully.

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "You thought it was going to be harder?" I nodded and was about to explain myself when the bell rang.

"Well," I said. "I've got Defense Against the Dark Arts next with Ravenclaw, I think."

"Lucky," Ginny gasped. "You get to have Lockhart before I do!"

"Trust me," I said, my lip rising into the same scowl my Dad had. "You can have Lockhart."

Ginny left with the other Gryffindors as they shuffled to Charms. I was about to exit with the other Slytherins when I heard Dad call my name. I beamed, hoping he would acknowledge my potion or something like that.

"Yes, professor?" I asked.

He turned and looked deep into my black eyes. "Do try and make friends in your _own_ House."

**A/N: Okay, if any of y'all are wondering why I'm throwing at least a chapter a day out, it's because this story is the first in a series of six (I plan on doing all the books from Chamber of Secrets and up) and I really, really want to get this done so I can get to more important parts. So yep, that's your little tidbit of information for the day. :)**


	5. 5: Lockhart is a Loon

**A/N: Hello everyone. I've decided that because I get out of school earlier on Wednesdays, I would post up two chapters for the day. So expect the second chapter to pop up in maybe an hour or two. Okey dokey, talk to y'all later. :)**

The Ravenclaws were already in the classroom when us Slytherins entered. At first glance I noticed how all the Ravenclaws were paired except for one girl. I recognized the dirty-blond haired girl who was star-gazing the first night. The rest of my House was all already paired up, so I sat in the seat beside the star-gazer.

Almost immediately after I sat down she spun towards me.

"Do you know where Nargles live?" She asked, raising her pale eyebrows as if it was the most important question ever.

"What now?" I raised one eyebrow in confusion. What in the world was a Nargle?

"They're everywhere," She said in a dreamy voice. I watched as she turned in her seat back towards the front of the class, acting like she never brought up the subject of Nargles and where they live.

It was an awkward three minutes before Lockhart burst from his office door. His golden hair was curled and he was wearing powder blue robes. I curled my lip at him; I still didn't understand how this guy, all powdered and primed, got the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor over my father. At least Dad _knew _what he was talking about.

"What an entrance…" The girl beside me sighed. I glanced at her; surely she wasn't gaga over Lockhart like the other girls in the class. But then I followed her line of sight and saw that she was staring at the brooch that perched on his chest. It took me a moment to realize that his brooch was a raven with sapphires on it.

Unfortunately for me, Lockhart noticed me staring and proudly announced loudly, "It was a gift from a fan." He winked at me, and I felt sick.

"Today we will be taking a quiz," He announced and the class groaned, all except for the girl beside me. She was too busy staring off into space again.

"Oh, that's not the spirit." Lockhart poked his bottom lip out in a fake pout. His broad, white smile was back in no time. "It's just a simple little quiz that will tell me where you are."

He passed them out and I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at it. _What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color? What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition? _These questions were all about him! I hadn't even been in Hogwarts for a full day and I already despised one of my teachers. Was that a record?

I guessed on each question, hoping that he wasn't really going to grade it. After thirty minutes of everyone muttering under their breath and the sound of quills scratching against the paper, Lockhart announced that time was up and summoned all of the papers to him. This didn't work out as he planned though, the force of all those papers flying at him knocked him off his feet. I laughed along with the rest of class as two Ravenclaw girls jumped up to help him stand.

"I'm fine, girls," He moaned as they helped him. "Go back to your seats now." As they fluttered away beaming, Lockhart used his wand to stack the papers neatly on to his desk. He graded them, frowning more and more the farther he got. He finally sighed, "Goodness gracious, children. None of you got my secret ambition correct." He threw us all a side glance. "Though if you're wondering, it's to market my own hair-care potions."

I shook my head; this guy was impossible. Then again, so was the girl beside me.

It was a relief when the bell rang for lunch. I almost ran over Cersei in my rush to get out of that idiot's class. How was I going to last in there for a whole year when I could hardly make it through a day?

I walked to the Great Hall among the sea of first year Slytherins and Ravenclaws. I wasn't expecting it when I was nearly knocked off my feet by someone behind me. I didn't fall; the same person who knocked me over also caught me. I heard laughing behind me and turned to see Fred and George Weasley high-fiving and laughing.

"What's so funny?" I demanded. A few students were stopping to watch us, much to my embarrassment.

"How's our favorite little Slytherin today?" Fred asked, reaching out and ruffling my hair. I tried to tame it but Fred's damage was already done.

"She's a little annoyed right now." I said truthfully. It wasn't Fred and George who were giving me the problem though; it was Lockhart and his failure at being a teacher.

"We humbly apologize, little Snapey," George said earnestly. I brushed his apology off and described my first class with Lockhart.

George shook his head, "That git. I don't get exactly how he got the position in the first place."

Fred shrugged. "Well, I definitely know what we're doing in Defense Against the Dark Arts today, Georgie."

The two shared identical grins. I tipped my head to the side a bit, wondering what it was like to have a twin. All the twins I've ever met were really close. Fred and George, Jaime and Cersei, but with my luck my twin would've hated my guts.

"Come along now, Snapey!" Fred said in a sing-song voice. "We can't have you late for lunch!" I didn't have time to react before I was sandwiched between them and being dragged to the Great Hall. All the while they called out to people in their way. I felt my face go tomato red and I tried but failed at ducking my head to keep people from seeing me.

The twins finally released me at the entrance of the Great Hall. "Now don't get lost, Snapey." Fred called out, much like a parent on their child's first day of school. Now people from all Houses were watching. I rolled my eyes at them as I headed to the Slytherin table and Fred and George headed for the Gryffindor one. When I arrived at the Slytherin table though, a _lot_ of older students were glaring at me like I had just committed murder.

"What are they all looking at?" I asked Jaime, who was in his seat across from me. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow, as if asking if I was seriously asking that question.

"Because you seem to be best friends with the clones," Jaime gestured behind him to the Gryffindor table, where Fred and George were telling more jokes at their table. I looked back at Jaime and narrowed my eyes.

"Aren't _you_ a twin?" I asked. Jaime stiffened and glared daggers at me.

"Well," He started, obviously trying to think of something that would irritate me. "_I'm _not fraternizing with the enemy."

"The enemy," I repeated, feeling anger build up inside me. "Who says we have to be enemies?"

Jaime opened his mouth to say something, but he clearly couldn't think of anything when he realized there wasn't an answer.

Jaime and I didn't speak for the rest of the meal. Sure I was mad, but Jaime was the closest thing I had to a friend in Slytherin. Maybe Dad was right. Maybe I _did _need to acquire some friends in my own House.


	6. 6: Harder Than it Seems

Turns out, making friends was harder than you would think. It seemed to me that Cersei had the rest of the girls in our year already wrapped around her finger. I learned that the light-brown haired girl was named Astoria Greengrass. She seemed nice enough, but every time I tried to talk to her, Cersei would show up and huff and Astoria would shy away from me. The same went for Jade Olivia, a pretty brown-haired girl also in our year.

On a brighter side, Jaime seemed to get over our spat. He still sat in front of me and would make small talk, but our relationship never extended past that. I was just happy for the company.

Ginny and I ended up meeting in the library to do homework and catch up. We never ended up getting much time to talk in Potions because Dad always had me stay behind to help him clean up. So when I voiced my struggles with making friends in Slytherin, she looked incredibly sad for me. I also noticed that when I told her, she reached over and brushed her fingers along the spine of a small black book.

Whatever was in that book, Ginny wasn't about to let me see. She told me that'd she show me eventually, and I had shrugged and dropped the subject.

A few days after the first day, there was a clamor over at the Gryffindor table. Interested, I pricked up my ears just in time to hear a second year scream: "Look everyone! Weasley's got himself a Howler!"

I braced myself for the Howler's message while feeling deeply sorry and humiliated at Ron's expense. Word of Ron Weasley and Harry Potter flying a car into the Whomping Willow had spread throughout the school like wildfire. I had heard it when I had visited Dad after school; he was skinning fluxweed and he was so angry he had almost destroyed the plant. It wasn't long until I heard the thunderous voice of Mrs. Weasley screaming at her son.

After poor Ron's Howler was through, my table erupted into laughter, even Jaime laughed. I caught Ron's gaze as he glanced over at everyone laughing at him, and I mouthed sorry. He gave me a curt nod then swept out of the hall, his ears matching his hair.

With fall soon approaching, everyone seemed to be in a slightly better mood. I assumed it was because Quidditch season was going to start soon. Even though it was a popular sport and all, I had never seen an actual Quidditch game before. Dad hated it for some odd reason, so I never pushed the subject. So needless to say, I was excited to watch a Quidditch game at last.

I had told Ginny about never seeing a Quidditch game, and she stared at me like there was something wrong. "How come you have never seen one?"

I explained how my dad didn't like it and her mouth was set into a thin line. I didn't need her to translate though; I knew she didn't like my dad. But it was still nice of her to not say anything. But then she invited me to go watch Gryffindor's team practice.

I was hesitant; I was already not liked that much by several older Slytherins and Gryffindors already because I was "fraternizing with the enemy".

Ginny gave a snort that was most unladylike when I told her that. "Who cares? Look, I will get Fred and George to drag you down there again if you don't."

The thought of experiencing that again was terrifying enough to make me agree. And so I eagerly awaited Saturday morning. I was smart not to tell Dad what I was planning on doing Saturday. He asked me when I was sitting in his office after school Friday afternoon.

"Saturday?" I repeated, thinking of an excuse fast. "I think I'm spending Saturday walking outside. You know, getting some fresh air."

Dad raised an eyebrow at me. "Do you plan on walking alone?"

I forced the rising panic back down into my throat. "Nope," I said a bit too fast. "I think Jaime and the others are coming too."

Dad looked into my eyes for a moment and I swear he could read my mind. But he dropped the subject, much to my relief.

I had barely dodged a bullet with Dad. Now I had to dodge one with Jaime. He had wanted to hang out Saturday, but I quickly made up a lie saying I had to help my dad help prepare the next lesson. Jaime looked disappointed but said okay and I felt a stab of guilt about lying to him.

That Saturday I woke before any other girls in the dormitory. I quickly got dressed into jeans and a T-Shirt and slipped on my converse. I made sure to be extra quiet going up the stairs to the Common Room. And to my relief, the Common room was deserted. I slipped past the entrance without any trouble and then hiked my way out of the dungeons. I happily stood outside in the Entrance Hall, proud of my achievement of getting out without waking anyone.

I wasn't waiting long until I saw the Gryffindor Quidditch team heading down the stairs, followed closely by Ginny, Ron, and a girl with bushy brown hair. Fred and George gave a shout of greeting when they saw me and Harry Potter smiled politely, but the rest of the team gave me dirty looks. I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt.

We made our way down to the Quidditch field when Oliver Wood, the captain, spotted some emerald and silver robes heading in the same direction. Oliver then got really mad and stormed forward to meet Slytherin's Quidditch team.

"What do you think you're doing Flint?" Oliver demanded once we were in earshot. Flint waited until we were closer to answer.

"We've received special permission from Professor Snape to use the field this morning, in order to train our new Seeker." Flint said looking proud.

At the sound of Dad's name, the Chasers on Gryffindor's team turned to glare at me. I stiffened, bracing myself. Harry must have sensed my sudden nerves, because he stepped up to stand beside me.

"You have a new Seeker?" Oliver asked, his voice rising in the slightest. "Who?" The Slytherin team side-stepped to reveal Draco Malfoy.

I missed the exchange from Malfoy because I suddenly felt like I should get out of there. Though I did hear it when the bushy haired girl standing a bit in front of me said, "At least the Gryffindor team didn't have to buy their way in, they got it on pure talent."

Malfoy stepped forward until he was nose to nose with her. "No one even asked you, you filthy little Mudblood."

I gasped, Fred and George tried to attack Malfoy but were held back by the Chasers, Harry looked confused, and Ron whipped out his broken wand.

"You'll pay for that, Malfoy!" He snarled. _"Eat slugs!"_ There was a flash of light and Ron was thrown backward. The Gryffindor team, Ginny, the bushy-haired girl and I all crowded around him while the Slytherin team laughed. I jumped back when Ron barfed up his first slug.

Harry and the girl rushed Ron off to Hagrid's. The Slytherin team took this opportunity to head toward the practice field. Oliver was fuming mad, and I felt his wrath when he turned towards me. "No more visitors from other Houses. _Ever!_" He snarled the last word when Fred and George opened their mouths to argue.

I felt the sting of tears fill my eyes as the Gryffindor team stalked back towards the castle. Fred and George looked back at me sympathetically but didn't stop to say anything. Ginny and I walked in silence to the edge of the lake. It was there where I finally allowed myself to cry.


	7. 7: Halloween

I spent the next few weeks avoiding all Gryffindors, with the exception of Ginny of course. It just so happened that when I did this, more of my fellow Slytherins decided I was worth talking to. Weird, I thought.

Halloween was approaching fast. Soon the Great Hall was decorated with pumpkins and fall colors. The smell of pumpkin pie, squash, and other foods wafted around the castle, making students even more eager for the long-awaited Halloween feast.

Dad continued to call on me for any problem in Potions. He even went as far as to compare me to other students.

"Creevey!" Dad shouted at Colin, the mousy-haired boy. "Why is your potion's bubbles green? They're supposed to be purple, like Calla's!"

This didn't help me in any way, for now Cersei had another reason to hate me. I would hear her talking loudly with the other girls about how the only reason I got good grades was because Dad threatened the other professors. This was completely untrue; McGonagall didn't hesitate to remark on my work in Transfiguration.

The other day I had had to turn mice into snuffboxes and my snuffbox, despite being a pretty shade of orange, still had whiskers. McGonagall had told me off in front everyone.

The same went for History of Magic; Professor Binns had rudely commented on how I had gotten two different goblin rebellions confused on a test. It wasn't completely my fault; stupid goblins had far too many rebellions to begin with.

There seemed to be a team of Slytherin girls that found flaws in everything I did. Cersei was one of the leaders, the other being a second year girl named Pansy Parkinson. And Astoria and Jade just seemed a part of it just so that they wouldn't get messed with.

Draco Malfoy also seemed to enjoy picking on me. You would have thought he wouldn't have dared, with Dad being his favorite teacher, but nonetheless, Draco didn't pass many opportunities to point out all of my flaws. Seriously, I was perfectly aware of them all.

The only ally I seemed to have was Jaime. But he was only around whenever Cersei wasn't looking. And whenever Pansy, Cersei and the others decided it was time to harass me, Jaime would just stand aside and let it happen.

Halloween was on a Friday, so that meant we still had classes. Lockhart was unbearable. I looked for any excuse to get out of class, and there was never that many. The girl beside me, whose name I learned was Luna, wasn't much of a help either. She was always trying to show me an article in a magazine called the _Quibbler_. I can tell you that everything in that magazine was absolute rubbish. But I didn't argue with her; Luna got quite defensive whenever you tried to correct her.

When the Halloween feast finally rolled around, I was famished and eagerly awaiting the food. Everyone sat down in their appropriate tables and we all were all patiently waiting for the food to appear like it always did.

Well, most of us were waiting patiently. I was sitting close to Crabbe and Goyle, two second years who looked more like gorillas, and they were acting as if they'd never eaten before. Draco was sitting beside me and he was watching his cronies through narrowed eyes. Jaime had his regular seat in front of me, and he ended up sitting beside Goyle. I stifled a laugh at his expense, earning a glare from him. Draco though, grinned along with me. I didn't think much on it though, because at that moment Dumbledore stood and raised his arms. The food was in front of me before I could even blink.

While I ate, I happened to glance over to the Gryffindor table out of habit. Fred and George were making jokes with their friend Lee Jordan, and everyone seemed to having a good time. But I noticed that four heads weren't there. Where was Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione (Ginny had told me her name after the slug incident)?

Ginny had told me how excited she was about the Halloween feast; it didn't make sense that she would miss it. As for Harry and the others: I hadn't an absolute clue as to where _they_ could possibly be.

Jaime noticed by now that I was staring at the Gryffindor table and he gave me a disappointed look. Although I felt bad for making Jaime feel like that, I was worried for Ginny and the others. So, without thinking twice about it, I stood and walked out of the Great Hall. I heard an eruption of laughter behind me and I ignored them; whatever Pansy or Cersei or _whoever_ had said didn't matter right now.

It was weird when there wasn't anyone else in the halls. I turned corner after corner, not sure where to start looking. I was rounding a corner when I slipped suddenly and collided with someone. My head hit the stone floor with a thud and I groaned in pain. Who had I run in to? Surprise didn't even cover what I felt when I saw it was Ginny.

She looked equally surprised to see me too. I opened my mouth to start interrogating her, when I noticed something dark and wet covering the front of her robes. My eyes widened as I recognized blood. She looked puzzled; but then she looked down at herself and opened her mouth for a scream. I jumped forward and pressed my hands against her mouth. Then both of our eyes widened when we heard footsteps heading our way.

There was no time to think; I grabbed Ginny by her arms and dragged her around the corner. I halted in terror at the message on the wall though: _"THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE."_

It was written in blood: the same blood that was on Ginny's robes. But then I caught a glimpse of what was hanging by a torch beside the message. Mrs. Norris, Filch's notorious cat, was hanging by her tail. I almost screamed but Ginny clamped her hand over my mouth, returning the favor. She quickly grabbed my hand and we ran into a set of nearby doors.

We ran in; it turned out to be a bathroom. Ginny and I ran into the back stall to hide, though I doubted someone would come in here to look for us. Ginny had tears of fear running down face and I felt my heart race. We waited for a few minutes of agonizing silence, until we felt it was safe to talk.

"Ginny, what happened?" I asked. My question brought another wave of tears and sobs from Ginny. It took me about five full minutes of calming her down to get her okay enough to talk.

"I don't know," She said, finally. "I remember feeling sick, then I blacked out. Next thing I know, I'm sitting on the ground facing you." She broke down again and this time I didn't do anything; I was too numb to try.

"C'mon," I finally said. "Let's get this off of you." We walked slowly to the sinks, and we began the slow process of getting the drying blood off of her robes. It took a while but we managed to get it off, but her robes were still really wet from the water. I grabbed as much toilet paper as I could hold and tried to help dry it, but nothing would work.

"I guess this is good enough," Ginny said glumly. "I just hope Percy doesn't get mad at me. Oh, Calla, what can I tell him if I run into him?" She no longer looked like a scared little girl; she now looked like someone who had run out of options and was lost. Her tears were easier to take than this.

"There's water outside; tell him you tripped and fell in it." That was the best I could come up with under pressure. It seemed to calm Ginny down, for she nodded and looked like she was mentally preparing for battle.

We didn't say anything else; we just walked side by side out the door. We walked together until we got to the Entrance Hall, where I walked down the stairs to the dungeons and Ginny continued to the changing staircases that would take her to the Gryffindor common room.

**A/N: YAY! On one hand I've been super excited to post this chapter because this is where things really start to kick off! On the other hand, reviews! They make me so happy, & it only takes five minutes...sooo...please? :)**


	8. 8: McGonagall's Warning

Ginny and I missed it Halloween night when the entire school had seen the writing on the wall. The entire student body on Monday was scared stiff. Even the Weasley twins, who usually acted like nothing in the world could bother them, were somber.

The only person who wasn't affected by the sudden mood swing was Draco. He swaggered around like he was king of the world. And, being naturally suspicious I was curious as to why that was.

Dad was very angry for the next few days. He seemed to think that Harry Potter had written the message on the wall as a prank. I had to bite my tongue to keep from telling him the truth.

Argh! I _hated_ secrets! I could never keep them, and anytime someone ever told me one, I ended up stressing out until I blabbed it to someone else.

But this time, I was determined to keep my mouth shut. Ginny was the only actual friend I had; I wasn't going to risk losing that over a dumb secret.

Ginny and I sat in the library together the next day. We were working on Potions homework, or rather I worked on it and Ginny peeked at it. I didn't mind; I helped her on Potions homework, she helped me on History of Magic homework. She seemed to be _good_ at that subject.

Anyway, we were doing Potions homework when Hermione Granger ran past us, looking flustered. She paused to give us both thin smiles, then she continued running to the other end of the library. What was she doing? Ginny shrugged and we continued our work.

Later was Transfiguration, I had busted my butt on the homework assignment. We had had to use the Switching spell effectively and correctly. Ask any girl from our dormitory, I had spent probably two full hours sitting on my bed trying to trade a teacup's handle with a potted plant's branch. One of my first attempts landed with Astoria's cat getting its tail switched with the branch. But I fixed it, even though poor Sprinkles still had leaves clinging to his tail.

I felt myself almost burst with pride when McGonagall graded my work and gave me a proud smile. I couldn't stop smiling until I noticed the haunted look on Jade's face, who was looking at a copy of _Hogwarts: A History_. McGonagall noticed as well, and questioned Jade on it. Jade swallowed before answering.

"Professor, it says here that the Chamber of Secrets is here in the castle." Her voice came out in a hushed whisper. I narrowed my eyes, glancing to McGonagall to explain.

McGonagall sighed, "I'm going to have to explain the Chamber to you all as well?" We all nodded. Maybe if I could find out what the Chamber was, I could help Ginny figure out why she had written it on the wall.

"The Chamber," McGonagall began, taking a seat behind her desk. "Is said to have been created under the dungeons of the school. Back when Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin created the school. Now Slytherin wanted to be more _selective_ with the students who were chosen to study here. And after the rest of the founders disagreed with him, Slytherin created the Chamber. Now the Chamber is said to be the home of a monster; a monster that, when the Chamber is opened, will begin to purge the school of all Muggle-born students."

We were dead silent when McGonagall finished. She swept her gaze over all of us. "Now everyone honestly! There is _no_ Chamber! The school has been checked countless times, and no sign for any chamber has ever been found. Now snap out of it; I want to see the rest of your Switching spells."

McGonagall went on about the assignment but no one was listening. I knew one thing was positively sure.

I _needed_ to tell Ginny about the Chamber, _now_.

**A/N: Hmm...sorry this chapter is short and pretty uneventful, so to make it up I'm going to go ahead and post another chapter. I'm really excited to see how people are responding to this story, so review! :D**


	9. 9: The Quidditch Match

Ginny had not taken the history of the Chamber of Secrets well. Her eyes filled with tears and she started hyperventilating. I had had to rush her to Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing for fear of her passing out. Pomfrey questioned why Ginny was acting that way; I made up some excuse about her getting a bad grade in Potions. I could tell Pomfrey didn't believe me, but I ran out of there before she could continue asking questions.

I was on my way down to the Slytherin common room when I remembered that Ginny and I had left our books and supplies in the library, where we had been studying. I turned on my heel and headed back up the stairs towards the library.

To my delight, no one had messed with our stuff. I stacked all my things in my bag and started on Ginny's when I noticed the small black book Ginny always carried around. Surely Ginny wouldn't care if I peeked at it. I picked it up, and then slammed it back on the desk. I couldn't invade Ginny's personal thoughts. If she ever found out our friendship would be done.

I shoved Ginny's things inside her bag and threw both bags over my shoulders. I was starting to head back to the Hospital Wing to return her bag when I heard familiar voices coming from the other side of bookcase. Against my better judgment, I crept over and held my head close enough to the book case to eavesdrop.

"…Surely there's something here that will help…." I knew that voice; that was Ron Weasley. What was he talking about? I scooted closer to listen.

"I've heard of a potion that changes your appearance temporarily." That was Hermione Granger. "But I've forgotten what…Found it!"

"What is it?" And that was Harry Potter. If they were working on a potions assignment, I'm sure I could've helped them. But the way they were talking softly told me this was no homework assignment.

"It's called Polyjuice Potion," Hermione said. My eyebrows scrunched up; Polyjuice potion was an insanely complicated potion. Dad would never assign that to any student, let alone three second years. "But it's really advanced; this is the most complicated potion I've ever seen. And there's no way Snape would store some of these ingredients in the student supply closet."

Well duh, I thought. "Uh-oh," Hermione said suddenly. I leaned closer; _what was the uh-oh? _"The potion takes a month to brew." She sounded defeated.

"A month?" I flinched back at the sudden heightened volume of Harry's voice. "But Hermione," He lowered it back down, causing me to lean forward once more. "If Malfoy _is _the heir of Slytherin, half of the Muggle-borns in the school could be attacked by then!"

"I know, but it's all we got." Hermione said. I took a step back; did they actually think Draco could be the heir of Slytherin? Well, I guess it could've made sense; his family has been in Slytherin for who knows how long, it would explain why he's been acting on top of the world lately.

"How d'you think we can get the ingredients out of Snape's private stores?" Ron's question snapped me out of my train of thought. I realized suddenly that I could _help_ them with their quest. If I did, then I could find out who had made Ginny write the message on the wall. And so, without thinking, I rounded the corner to face Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

All of them looked shocked and terrified to see me. I assumed it was because I came out of nowhere, but a back and dark part of my brain told me it was because I resembled Dad too much. "I can help you guys." I stated and waited for them to answer.

Harry was the first to answer. "How could you help us?"

"You all said so yourselves," I said, "Some of the ingredients you wouldn't be able to find yourselves. I could sneak into Dad's stores and take anything you need."

Ron looked doubtful and Harry appeared to be mulling it over, but Hermione was gazing at me like she was seeing me for the first time.

"Calla, that's genius!" She cried.

"It is?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione like she had lost her marbles.

"Of course it is," Hermione exclaimed. "Why hadn't I thought of it before? Calla could not only get us ingredients, she could help us get into Slytherins common room as well!" I wasn't expecting the hug Hermione forced upon me. I hesitated before awkwardly patting her back. She released me and held me at arm's length. "We should have come to you first."

So it was decided; I would help gather fluxweed and Boomslang skin from Dad's private cupboards. Not all at once; I needed to swipe the fluxweed first then and week later take the Boomslang skin. I would also meet Hermione after classes to help brew the potion. All while trying to get closer to Draco.

"Don't you think it'd be weird if Malfoy and Calla can't stand each other, and then have Calla hang around all of a sudden?" Ron asked on one of our brewing days. And so my mission to become friends with Draco was set.

It turns out that Draco wasn't having the best of luck in Herbology. I instantly perked my ears; I was acing my Herbology class. Because most herbs were used in potions, I had a natural talent when it came to them. I blurted this out to Draco after he separated from Crabbe and Goyle. Draco narrowed his pale eyes at me.

"Why do you want to help me? I thought we hated each other."

I shrugged, "I don't want to spend my years at Hogwarts with enemies around every corner." That was the truth. Draco reluctantly agreed; I could tell it would be a while until he would fully relax around me.

With my tutoring sessions with Draco, brewing Polyjuice Potion with Hermione, spending time with Dad after class, and regular classes, I had almost no time in between to do anything else. Dad wanted to meet up every Sunday, Monday, Thursday, and Friday. Draco wanted our sessions to be every Tuesday, seeing as Professor Sprout always gave pop quizzes on Wednesdays. And both Jaime and Ginny wanted to hang out but would refuse to do it with each other. Call me crazy if I wasn't almost ready to rip my hair out.

During this time the first Quidditch game of the year was coming. Everyone was excited and some of my fellow Slytherins would fire jabs at me, asking who I planned on supporting. I would ignore them and try my hardest to do my homework while also trying to keep my sanity.

The Quidditch game was a relief. That Saturday the entire school filed into the Quidditch stadium and I ended up squashed in the stands between Jaime and Jade. I stood up and cheered with them as the Slytherin team came out. When the Gryffindor team appeared, Jaime looked at me. I forced my face blank and tried not to cheer for Harry, Fred, and George.

I tried to keep up with the Chasers and where the Quaffle was, but with Jaime screaming encouragement in my ear and Lee Jordan giving us a play-by-play, I could hardly keep up with any of it. I caught a glimpse of Harry though; he was higher up than everyone else and Fred and George were circling around him protectively. I frowned, I may not know much about Quidditch, but I knew that the Beaters were not supposed to focus on the Seeker. Then I saw the Bludger swoop in and try to take Harry's head.

I gasped in horror. That Bludger had been tampered with! I watched nervously as Fred and George were forced to part from Harry right as the Bludger took another dive at him. It quickly spun around and tried to crash into him from below; Harry missed the blow by an inch. I leaned forward until my stomach was pressed against the railing. Harry was barely dodging these attacks; how was he gonna make it through?

But then he went into a spiraling dive and I spotted a golden speck down by goal posts. Draco dived after him, but Harry already had a head start. Harry was chasing the Snitch across the length of the field when that darn Bludger came out of nowhere and rammed itself into Harry's outstretched arm. I cringed as I couldn't help but imagine the sound of the crunch of bones. But despite being in utter pain, Harry still managed to reach out with his left hand and swipe the Snitch. I slumped back into my seat, not daring to cheer for Gryffindor's win while surrounded by Slytherins. But I wriggled out of the crowd to the field, just to give Harry congratulations.

I arrived just in time to see Lockhart lean towards Harry, who was sitting on the ground looking flustered. I could barely hear what Lockhart was saying over the crowd, whatever it was Harry wasn't enjoying it. Then I watched Lockhart point his wand at Harry's clearly broken arm, there was a pearly white glow and I watched in horror as Harry's arm flopped around lifelessly.

A wave of laughter came from behind me; I turned to see Draco standing almost directly beside me with the Slytherin Quidditch team right behind him. I suddenly remember what Hermione, Ron, and Harry wanted me to do, so I faked a very convincing laugh and earned a glance of approval from Draco. Harry was rushed to the Hospital Wing, while Dumbledore gave Lockhart a stern talking to about leaving all medical problems to Madam Pomfrey.

I followed the rest of the Slytherins to the common room, following Draco, who was still sporting his Quidditch robes even though we lost, Crabbe, and Goyle. Cersei and Pansy were trailing behind me grumbling about how they had hoped that Bludger had taken off Harry's head. I bit my tongue to stop from snapping at them.

Suddenly Draco held back 'til he was walking by my side. "So, Calla," he started, forgetting to be all snooty and mean. "Did you see me play?" I nodded with a smile on my face. Truthfully, Draco was a pretty good player. I tried not to notice how Draco beamed when I nodded. We strolled back to the common room in silence.

That one moment with Draco gave both Cersei and Pansy another reason to despise the fact that I existed. Apparently, me spending time with Draco and talking to him on a level basis was something to get jealous about.

**A/N: It's Friday, Friday! Gotta get down on Friday! Lol, because it's the weekend that means I'm gonna work shamelessly on this story. So be prepared for more chapters coming up soon (if I get some chapters done later on today I'll post them tonight or tomorrow, depending on how late it is) Okay dokey, so I'll write to y'all later. Bye! :D**


	10. 10: Petrified

I suppose I shouldn't have been completely shocked when I heard that people were now spreading rumors that Harry Potter was the heir of Slytherin. I mean, with everything else concerning Harry, this rumor was pretty far-fetched if you ask me.

I had heard Draco scoffing about it during dinner a few days ago. He was pretty much trash-talking everyone who thought it was Harry; to me it sounded like sour grapes. I wanted to ask him if he was only angry because _he _was really the heir.

But still, hearing that Harry could talk to snakes was fascinating to me. I was so curious that I approached him during one of the brewing days and asked him how he did it.

Harry ducked his head and turned slightly scarlet. "I don't know, really," He said softly. "I was just trying to stop the snake from attacking Justin." Hm, from what I heard Harry had been egging the snake on. I told him and he looked at me miserably, "Do you believe it?" I told him the honest answer: no. Harry seemed to relax after that, though he still looked miserable.

Under my watchful eye, Draco began to excel in Herbology. I felt pretty darn proud of myself. Dad had even pulled me aside one day after class to comment on my apparently "natural teaching habits". I blushed; Dad never really gave out praise like that. And even though I was a first year and still years away from being a proper witch, I started thinking about a profession at Hogwarts. I could be the Potions or Herbology professor, seeing as those were my two best subjects. Even back then, I relished in the idea of becoming a wise and painfully intelligent professor like Dumbledore or Dad.

I was using what little free time I had in the library with Ginny in our usual spot. We always did majority of our homework there, helping each other with the subjects we have trouble. I wasn't expecting it when Ginny came late looking rather annoyed.

"What's up?" I asked, she looked at me before sitting down.

"Where have you been going lately?" She asked while raising an eyebrow. I stared at her. How was I going to explain this: I'm working my butt off trying to figure out why you wrote that message on the wall Halloween, so get off my case?

"Um, well I've been really busy with potions lately." It wasn't a complete lie; I _have_ been spending more time brewing and preparing the Polyjuice Potion. Now that Hermione pretty much fully trusted me now, she left me alone with the potion while she went to catch up her own studies. I was more than happy to oblige, so long as Moaning Myrtle didn't give me any grief about being in there.

Ginny's eyebrows formed a perfect V on her forehead and I could tell this conversation wasn't over. But she sat down and began to work on the assignment Professor Binns had given us.

I sighed, wanting nothing more but to tell Ginny all about the Polyjuice Potion, about me having to become buddies with Draco, about everything, but I knew I couldn't. Ron had cornered after a brewing session and made me promise not to tell anyone about what we were doing. I had sworn I wouldn't, and then rolled my eyes after he left. Seriously, Ron needed to lighten up; he would see eventually that he could trust me.

A week passed with nothing particularly exciting happening. I continued to visit Dad, tutor Draco (who was opening up more and more to me), doing homework with Ginny, and working on the Polyjuice Potion. But one day I had had to go to the Hospital Wing. Cersei thought it was highly amusing to jinx the doorknob in the girl's dormitory to bite anyone who tried to turn it. That person was, of course, me. So I ended up sitting on a clean bed in the Hospital Wing waiting for Madam Pomfrey to finish applying healing lotion for the deep bite-marks that would scar my left hand.

It happened in a loud shuffle; Madam Pomfrey frowned and left me to investigate, about five seconds later I heard Madam Pomfrey start shrieking and saw her run to the entrance of the Hospital Wing. I stood up immediately and stared at what I saw.

Professor McGonagall had levitated the body of a boy who appeared to be made of stone. And behind her floated a steaming Nearly-Headless-Nick. Madam Pomfrey helped McGonagall place the boy on a bed beside an already petrified Colin Creevey…oh no. He was another victim of whoever was doing this. McGonagall waved her wand and Nick floated past her and into the corner.

"Whoever is behind these attacks is gaining confidence," Madam Pomfrey noted fearfully. McGonagall nodded grimly and I felt my stomach drop to the floor. That Polyjuice Potion needed to finish fast.

"Where's Dumbledore?" Madam Pomfrey asked, snapping me back to reality.

McGonagall looked down at the boy sadly. "I sent the student who found Mr. Finch-Fletchley like this to Dumbledore."

"Who found him?" Madam Pomfrey asked in a hushed voice. I ignored a wave of irritation at her trying to be all secretive.

"Harry Potter," McGonagall said, looking back up from the boy. I sighed rather loudly; when was Harry gonna stop getting himself into these situations? McGonagall's head snapped up and she finally saw me.

"Ms. Snape!" Madam Pomfrey declared. She looked affronted to have forgotten that I was there. "You are free to go; your hand will be healed in an hour's time. Now go!"

I power-walked out of there. I broke into a run when I was sure they wouldn't hear my footsteps, and without really thinking about where I was going, I ended up bursting into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Hermione's head jerked up at my abrupt entrance.

"Calla," She said with a hint of disapproval in her lofty voice. "You look like you've just seen a ghost. Well, maybe the Bloody Baron instead of another ghost. Either way, what is it?"

I explained everything I just witnessed; Hermione's eyes got rounder. Then she blinked and gave me a small smile. "Well," She started cautiously. "On the brighter side, the Polyjuice Potion is ready."


	11. 11: Polyjuice Potion

Praise the Lord for Christmas holidays! When the professors finally let us out, there was a party in the Slytherin common room. A cover band made up of a few sixth and seventh years sang songs while the rest of us clumsily shuffled our feet. Well not everyone, because according to Jaime, Cersei has been taking dance lessons since she was five and she was now dancing in the middle of the floor like a professional. I threw my hands up into the air. Was there _anything_ this girl couldn't do?

There was one point where Draco and I swayed on the spot side by side for a while, until he was swept away by Pansy Parkinson. She threw me a dirty glare when Draco wasn't looking. Shuffling my feet by myself got old, I decided to take a stroll along the grounds. It was still a couple hours 'til curfew, so I crept out of the entrance without being noticed by anyone.

Even now, I still find it creepy when there isn't a soul in the corridors. I listened to the echo of my feet, not really sure as to where I was going. I was rounding a corner when I bumped into two someones, but luckily I didn't manage to fall.

"Why hello, Snapey," Fred said cheerfully. "What brings you out on this fine night?"

"Nothing," I replied. "I just got bored."

"Well don't we have something that'll be sure to entertain." George said, suddenly grinning. Fred glanced at him then matched his smile tooth for tooth. "Follow us,"

I was glad to not have been sandwiched between them again. Believe it or not, it wasn't as fun as it sounded. I followed them to the basements of the castle (I didn't even know we had a basement) and trailed behind them until we reached a tall painting of a bowl of fruit.

George reached out a hand and tickled the pear in the painting. I jumped back in surprise as it let out a high-pitched, girlish giggle and swung open the painting. Fred told me to wait outside before climbing into the portrait hole with his twin right behind him.

They were only gone for ten minutes when they reappeared, with their arms carrying loads of food. Fred threw me a handful of Chocolate Frog packages. They began to walk away without saying goodbye, and not wanting to be left alone I scrambled after them, all while trying to keep a good grip on my frogs.

Fred and George led me back out to the Entrance Hall. There they bid me goodnight and promised to see me sometime during the holiday. I descended the stairs to the dungeons with a smile on my face.

Draco was the first to see me come through the door. Instantly his eyes went down to the large quantity of Chocolate Frogs in my hands.

"Where'd you get those?" He asked loudly, earning me the attention of Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

"I ran into some friends," I replied vaguely, tossing him a frog. He narrowed his pale eyes at me and gave a curt nod, obviously disappointed that I didn't explain any farther. I ate a frog on the way to my dormitory, feeling satisfied for the first time in a long time.

When I woke up the next morning, I was vaguely surprised that all the other beds were empty and the trunks gone. I checked the clock beside my bed: it was ten o'clock. That meant the train going back home left an hour ago. I smiled widely into my bed sheets; I had the dormitory to myself for the week.

I took my time getting dressed, chewing on another Chocolate Frog's head at the same time. When I entered the Common Room, I was ecstatic but shocked to see it completely deserted. I didn't know how many older students were staying over the holidays, but I knew Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, a second year named Millicent Bulstrode (whom Hermione was planning to change into), and another first year boy named Roy (a rat-faced boy who had more acne than I had limbs, curly dark hair, and a beak for a nose) were planning on staying.

I happily walked alone to the Great Hall. I was eagerly waiting the week I would get away from Cersei, Pansy, and all the others. I didn't notice it when I was eating my banana nut muffin that Ginny had walked right up to me.

"Hello Calla," She said in a cheerful that was very different from last time she spoke to me.

"Hey Ginny," I returned the greeting. "Why are you so happy?"

Ginny tipped her head at me. "I thought we could hang out all day today. Can you?"

I nodded excitedly. Ginny looked happy. We hadn't been able to properly hang out since the start of the year. We started that day skipping rocks into the lake, trying to stay warm. But with the snow being thrown at us, we gave up soon and scurried inside. It was hard finding a place to hang out without getting in anyone else's way after that, seeing as we couldn't go to each other's Common Rooms. Madam Pince shouted at us and shooed us away after we tried to talk in the library. We did manage to find an empty classroom where we planned to practice some spells for Transfiguration. Only problem was that we found Ginny's older brother Percy making out with a Ravenclaw prefect. He was very embarrassed; but we promised not to tell anyone and ran out. I paused after we ran outside and pressed my ear to the closed door. Sure enough, after a few words of comfort from the girl, sounds of them starting to make out made an appearance again. Ginny and I laughed about it for an hour afterwards.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the castle. In the North Tower there was a trap door with a sign that said: _"Do not disturb, crystal gazing." _Ginny tried to open the door anyway, but it was locked. We gave up and made a journey to the Owlery instead. The day was filled with adventure and looking back that is still one of my favorite memories to revisit in my Pensieve. I went to bed that night happy and satisfied from the day.

The next few days were spent doing the same thing, though sometimes Fred and George would join Ginny and I on our days wandering around the castle. Christmas day came fast and I was shocked to see a pile of gifts at the foot of my bed. I had received a new book of potions from Dad, I smiled; I needed this one. Hermione had given me a homework planner which would randomly say words of encouragement dealing with homework issues. Ginny had sent me a small model of a broomstick that flew in circles around my head. Fred and George sent me another pile of Chocolate Frogs. And, surprisingly, Mrs. Weasley sent me a box of caramel cakes. I stored all of my gifts into my trunk and got dressed hurriedly so I could have breakfast.

When I entered the Great Hall, I was surprised to see the four House tables had vanished and had been replaced with one long table. Dumbledore sat at the end of the table with McGonagall on one side and Dad on the other. Dad looked rather moody as he sat beside a nervous looking first year girl with dark, curly hair. I recognized her as Romilda Vane, a snooty girl from Gryffindor. I hid my pleasure at her discomfort and took a seat between Ginny and Hermione.

"Because there are so few of us," Dumbledore said with his voice warm and cheery. "I find that House tables are very inappropriate. Severus, would you care for a party-favor?" He turned towards Dad, who eyed Dumbledore before pulling on the party-favor. It instantly erupted and a large sombrero appeared on Dad's head. Dad made a move to remove it, but Dumbledore beat him and switched it for his wizards' hat gleefully.

What a loony old man.

The day was spent quietly, or an attempt at quietly, playing wizard's chess with Ginny. That is, until Hermione nudged her and gave her a look that told her that it was time to put their plan in action. I excused myself from the game, Romilda Vane jumping in when I abandoned my seat, and followed Hermione through the Great Hall. Together, without raising any suspicion we, set two fairly large cupcakes that had already been spiked with a sleeping draught in plain view of whoever wandered out next.

Hermione left to go change into some Slytherin robes that she had swiped from the laundry, leaving me with the task of making sure that Crabbe and Goyle were the ones who found the cupcakes.

Sure enough, Crabbe and Goyle slouched out of the Great Hall, their arms absolutely filled with cakes, treats, and goodies. It took no time at all for them to find my cupcakes. They looked at each other with excitement etched into their faces. I curled my lip into the scowl that had been inherited from Dad. Who could get excited from finding cupcakes: those two fatties.

I watched them rush up and shove the cupcakes into their already stuffed mouths. I felt my stomach clench watching them. Slowly their faces turned from ones of glee to drowsiness. Then they both toppled over, landing with large thuds.

"How thick could you get?" I jumped in fear when I heard Ron's voice behind me. He and Harry had been watching Crabbe and Goyle along with me it seemed.

Wordlessly, Harry, Ron, and I dragged the over-sized boys into the nearest broom closet. "Make sure you get some hairs from each." I said. Ron gave a grunt and reached down to rip some hair from Crabbe's porky head. Harry did the same for Goyle. "Don't get them mixed; you don't want to turn into _both_ of them."

"We got it, Calla!" Harry said, looking flustered. "Honestly, you're starting to sound like your father." I stiffened at Harry's remark and he froze, realizing what he had said. I gave them a curt nod before whipping out of the closet with the two boys close behind me.

We had to pause before entering Moaning Myrtle's bathroom; Filch was sneaking around grumbling about students staying out of bed. I could feel my heart in my throat while he eventually shuffled off. All three of us then darted quickly into the bathroom.

Hermione was waiting impatiently for us when we arrived. "What took you so long?" Harry apologized and explained. I eyed the potion, instantly feeling a tidal wave of doubts rising in my belly. The thick, bubbling substance looked more like mud. Had Hermione and I made this potion right? If any of them got hurt after drinking this, it would be my fault.

Hermione and the others shared my doubts, as they gazed with disgust at the slowly bubbling liquid. Then Hermione raised her eyes to me and said in a shaky voice: "Go ahead and pour the cups Calla."

I did what I was told and Harry and Ron went into stalls to change. I had filled three glasses when Hermione sprinkled some hairs from a vile in her pocket. It took a moment but eventually it turned a sick sort of yellow that I would assume came out of your nose. Hermione was clutching her glass when Harry and Ron reappeared and put their own hairs into their appropriate glasses. Harry's turned into what looked like wet buggers and Ron's was murky brown. I scowled again; feeling an overwhelming feeling of pity for these three.

"Ugh," Ron groaned, gripping his glass so hard it looked like it was going to shatter. "Essence of Crabbe,"

"Well," Harry said tenderly; he was already looking like he was going to vomit. "Bottoms up,"

Harry took a deep swig of his potion, Hermione and Ron hesitated but did it anyway. The looks on their faces were pained and twisted with disgust. I backed up a pace or two, to grantee I wasn't going to get barfed on.

Suddenly, all three of them dropped their glasses (I jumped back to avoid getting any glass or potion on me) and they all ran into different bathroom stalls. I was frozen; horrified at the gagging and pained grunts and shrieks coming from the stalls. Moaning Myrtle floated out of nowhere and hovered beside me. We were both eagerly waiting to see what would happen to the second years.

It seemed like forever but after what was really four minutes by my watch, a confused looking Goyle stepped out of the same stall Harry had disappeared too. I had to stop myself from questioning him immediately. Harry looked at me through his round glasses; I opened my mouth to advise him to take them off but was interrupted by Crabbe entering through another stall, rubbing his head all the way.

I blinked; the potion actually _worked_! I felt a prideful grin spread across my face. I was snapped back from my accomplishment though, when a Ron disguised as Crabbe banged on the stall Hermione still hid in.

"Uh," Hermione's voice sounded scared. I stepped forward. "Go on without me. I-I don't think I'll be coming out."

"C'mon, Hermione," I said, frowning. "We all know Millicent looks like a toad but _you _don't have to hide from us."

Ron gave a huff of laughter that sounded just like Crabbe when Hermione shouted back at us. "Just go! You're wasting time; the potion wears off in an hour!"

Harry sighed, "Let's just go," He turned to the door. "We'll just tell her when we get back."

"See ya later, Hermione." Ron called. I took the lead as would only fit if I was walking with the real Crabbe and Goyle. And without looking back to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, we headed off in the direction of Slytherin's Common Room.


	12. 12: Questioning Draco

I was betraying my House. That was the thought that was bouncing around my noggin as I led the fake Crabbe and Goyle towards the dungeons. What if someone found out what I was doing? I would be kicked out of Hogwarts before I could blink, I bet. Dad would be so ashamed. I felt my face burn red at the thought of it.

I didn't even notice it when I bumped into Draco Malfoy. Thankfully neither of us was going fast enough to be knocked over. Draco gaped at me, then at the fake Crabbe and Goyle behind me. His gaze hardened when he looked them over.

"Have you two been stuffing your faces this whole time? Whatever, let's just get back to the common room before that Weasley idiot catches us." Draco stormed past us. I happened to notice Ron's ears go pink when Draco insulted his family. I silently willed him to keep his mouth shut.

Draco turned unexpectedly to glare at Harry. "Why are you wearing glasses?"

"Uh," Harry mumbled. Think of something, I thought desperately, my heart hammering in my chest. "I was reading,"

"Reading?" Draco asked, his eyebrows raised more in shock than in question. "I didn't know you could read." He nodded approvingly and we continued on our way down to the dungeons.

When we reached the entrance, Draco paused and glanced at all of us in turn. "Do any of you remember the password?"

I felt my mind go blank and forced my brain to remember. Harry and Ron looked equally nervous. But Draco smiled and turned back to the wall. "Oh yeah, _pureblood_."

I tilted my head at the password. That was our password? Go figure, I thought grimly. Upon entering the Common Room Harry and Ron's eyes widened slightly. I rolled my eyes and plopped myself into my favorite armchair by the fire.

"Well sit down," Draco drawled, sounding annoyed. Ron and Harry had been standing awkwardly in front of Draco. I groaned inwardly, this mission was already going on to a rough start.

"You'd never know the Weasleys' were pure-bloods." Draco said thoughtfully. I hid behind a random book I found close to me, not wanting to see Ron's reaction. "They're an _embarrassment _to the Wizarding world." I could hear Ron's knuckles crack and looked up to see that they had turned white. "What's wrong with you, Crabbe?" Draco had noticed too. I gave Ron what I hoped was an encouraging look.

"Stomachache," He grumbled, not looking at Draco. I felt my pulse begin to rise again; this was not going well already.

Draco huffed and continued on his rant. "You know, I'm surprised the _Daily Prophet_ hasn't done a report on all these attacks. I suppose Dumbledore is trying to hush it all up." Draco sneered. "My father always said Dumbledore was the _worst_ thing to ever happen to this school."

"YOU'RE WRONG!" I almost fell from my chair from Harry's outburst. Harry immediately realized what he had done and was now looking scared for his life.

Draco stood up menacingly. "What? You think there's someone here that's _worse_ than Dumbledore?" Harry didn't answer right away. "Well, do you?"

I did some quick thinking and peered at Draco carefully. "Harry Potter?" I answered cautiously.

Draco looked at me in surprise, as if just now realizing I was there. Then he gave me an approving smirk. "Good one, Calla," I felt my pulse slow just a tad. "You're absolutely right. Saint Potter! And people actually think that _he's _the heir of Slytherin?"

I saw Harry and Ron exchange a glance. Harry looked back at Draco. "But you must have some idea as to who's behind it all."

Draco began pacing back and forth in front of the couch. "You know I don't Goyle." I narrowed my eyes and looked at Draco. So he wasn't the heir? "I told you yesterday. How many times do I have to tell you?"

Draco paused to pick up a small wrapped gift that I could've sworn I saw Roy carrying around earlier. "Is this any of yours?" He asked all of us. When we all shook heads and he pocketed it real fast.

Draco leaned in on us all of a sudden. "But my father did tell me this." I found myself leaning in, desperate to find out more. "It's been fifty years since the Chamber has been opened. He didn't tell me who opened it, only that they were expelled." I now saw why a large group of people hung on Draco's every word; he was a fantastic story-teller. "And that the last time it was opened, a Mudblood died. So it's only a matter of time before another one falls over."

I felt my blood turn to ice.

"As for me," Draco continued, not noticing my sudden horror. "I hope its Granger."

There was a sudden flurry of movement. Ron had gotten up to attack Draco and Harry had leapt up with him to hold him back.

"What's the matter with you two?" Draco yelled, all hushed decency forgotten. "You're both acting rather—" He paused, trying to think of the right word. "Odd!"

"It's his stomachache," Harry said fast. I widened my eyes in terror at them. On Harry's forehead, clearly visible, was his lightning-bolt shaped scar. And to make it worse, Ron's vivid red hair was starting to sprout out from underneath Crabbe's dark hair. Fortunately they noticed as well, and didn't hesitate to run for the exit.

"Where are you going?" Draco yelled after them. They didn't even bother to answer as they slammed out of the door and didn't bother to look back.

I felt myself deflate after they finally left. Draco passed me a confused look, but I shrugged it off and disappeared into the girls' dormitory.

My head was buzzing with all the new information. So Draco wasn't the heir after all. But he if wasn't who was? And he had said that last time the Chamber had been opened, a Muggle-born had died. How long will it take for another one to die? I thought about what Draco said about wanting it to be Hermione. I felt the first wave of extreme dislike for Draco fill me up. Thank God we finally finished this job, I thought. That meant I no longer had to pretend to be Draco's friend.

I couldn't go to sleep that night, so instead I munched on a few of the Chocolate Frogs Fred and George had given me for Christmas. Only one thought kept pounding itself in my head that night; if Draco wasn't doing it, who was forcing Ginny to write messages on the wall?

Eventually I fell asleep. But I had a nightmare; I was sitting in Potions class when Draco burst in with Dumbledore. Draco had found out about me sneaking Harry and Ron into the Slytherin Common Room. I had denied it, but then Dad came swooping out of nowhere and used a truth spell on me. I had been expelled from Hogwarts and shunned in front of the entire school…

I woke with a start. I gasped for breath when I heard an odd noise. It sounded like something slithering across the floor…

I jumped up and stared around the room. There was nothing there in the dim light. I shook my head. I was losing it. Convinced I was losing my marbles at an age eleven, I settled back into my sheets, not really being able to get the sound of slithering out of my head.


	13. 13: The Diary

I ran to the Hospital Wing the second I heard the rumors. Rumor had it that Hermione Granger had been attacked, seeing as she hadn't been in any classes for the past week. Fortunately, I didn't find her petrified, as I was expecting. Instead she was covered head to toe in thick black fur and had pointed ears that sprouted out from beneath her hair and had a long tail that kept swishing.

Sometimes I would accompany Harry and Ron to the Hospital Wing, just to help carry the books. Apparently Hermione wanted to stay on top of her classes.

"If I'd sprouted whiskers, I'd take a break from work," Ron said, tipping a stack of books on to Hermione's bedside table.

"Don't be silly, Ron, I've got to keep up," Hermione retaliated.

Of course I couldn't spend all my time with those three in the Hospital Wing. I still met Ginny in the library and I still had to dodge snide comments from the other Slytherins. And Draco seemed to be peeved with me for ignoring him. I had finally realized what a jerk Draco was, why couldn't he move on and stop acting like _I_ was the bad one?

I was saying all this to Ginny in the library one day; all the while she snuck glances at that diary of hers. I finally had enough of it, "You know, if you want to write something down in your book, go ahead and I'll cover my eyes."

Ginny's head snapped back at me like coming out of a trance. "No! It's not that, it's just—"

She cut off. She seemed to know what she wanted to say, but wasn't sure exactly _how _to say it. I reached across the table to place my hand on her shoulder. Ginny looked up and I gave her an encouraging smile. Ginny heaved a sigh and pulled the diary out of her bag.

"I want to show you something, Calla," Ginny said, looking more scared and fretful than ever. "But when I do," She forced back a tearful sob. "I want you to promise me that you won't think anything bad about me when I do. Got it?"

I felt my stomach clench. Oh no, another secret? I was lucky enough too had not spoken about the first one. But Ginny was pleading with tearful eyes, so, very reluctantly, I nodded my head. Besides, what could Ginny have written that would make me think differently about her?

Ginny sighed and opened the diary to a random page. I blinked as I realized that it was blank. I continued to stare in confusion as Ginny picked up her quill and wrote "Hello." on the page. The ink shone brightly on the page for a second and then, to my amazement, looked to be sucked into the page and disappeared. Ginny was watching my reaction with fear sparkling in her eyes. I heard a sort of scratchy noise and glanced down to the paper again, to see words form on their own as if an invisible person was writing it.

_"Hello, Ginny. Is everything alright? You haven't written to me in a while."_

I stared at the words, which were disappearing again, then to Ginny. She was staring at me expectantly, as if half expecting me to get up and run away.

"Are you going to explain?" I asked after we had what seemed like a staring contest.

Ginny gave a shudder that looked like she had been trying to hold in. "I found this book before school started; the day after I met you." Instantly memories of us school shopping filled my mind. I looked into Ginny's eyes and saw that she was thinking about the same thing.

"Well, I started writing in it, because I thought it was a real diary. But then it wrote back." I nodded towards the book, where more writing was appearing on the aged pages.

_"Are you there?"_

Ginny glared at the diary and I felt a ripple of forbidding wash over me. Who was that on the other side of the pages?

"Anyway," Ginny said, still glaring at the book. "I kept talking to Tom," Seeing my confused expression on my face, she replied, "He's whoever is writing back." I nodded, egging her to go on. "But Calla, I'm really starting to get scared." Her voice broke. I reached back over the table and patted her shoulder. "H-He wants me to do things. Like he w-wants me to kill Hagrid's roosters a-and—"

"Shh," I said, with my weak attempt to calm her down. "Do you want to get rid of it?" I asked, offering the first thing that came to my mind.

Ginny looked hopeful for the first time in a long time. She nodded excitedly. And that was that. We packed our things quickly and I carried that darn diary to the first place I could think of.

Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

Before stepping in all the way, I made sure Myrtle wasn't around. When the coast was clear, I beckoned Ginny into a stall and I pointed at the toilet. Ginny nodded and waited for me to throw it in.

"I'm not doing it," I said in a matter-of-fact tone. I handed the book out for her to take, but she stared at it with the fear flooding back into her face.

"No Calla!" She exclaimed. "That book is _evil_! It won't let me drown it, it'll make me do something terrible to you, and I just know it."

"Ginny," I said in a firm voice. "_You _have to be the one to do this. I'm right here if you need me, so just get it over with."

With an uneasy glance at me, Ginny gingerly took the diary into her hands, almost as if she expected it to leap up and bite her. She looked uneasy as she prepared to chuck it into the toilet. Then an unexpected wave of anger flashed across Ginny's face and she threw it _hard. _The water splashed back at us and I managed to cover my face with my robes just in time to avoid most of the splash. But Ginny got a large amount of the water on her face. She blinked the water from her eyes and reached up to the toilet and pulled the lever to flush it. The toilet started sputtering and spraying water everywhere as it tried to force the diary down the pipe. I pulled Ginny away from the toilet water that was now raining down on our heads in big fat drops.

We left the bathroom in a hurry. Neither of us mentioned the diary, or the doubts that were swirling through our heads that we actually got rid of it.

A few days passed and we tried to put the whole incident behind us. But that was a little hard to do, considering that every time I closed my eyes I could see the diary writing back to Ginny.

As Valentine's Day approached, Lockhart started announcing to everyone within earshot that he would be spreading dwarves dressed as Cupids around the school to deliver Valentines. I had scowled at him while he explained, still feeling like I wanted to punch this guy in the face. The next day Ginny and I found an empty classroom where we started practicing Levitating Charms. We managed to make several books, quills, and even a globe lift off into the sir for a few moments. It was here Ginny brought up Lockhart's dwarves.

"Hey Calla," She said randomly after making an ink bottle fly through the air. "I have an idea for Lockhart's dwarves, but I want your opinion first."

"Get rid of them?" I asked with sarcasm dripping from my voice. "Fine by me; how do you want to do it?"

Ginny snorted. "Not get rid of them." She turned a deep shade of red that clashed with her hair. "I want to send one to someone."

My eyebrows rose with surprise. "Oh, well who then?"

I didn't think it was possible, but Ginny turned an even deeper shade of red. "No one…"

It was my turn to snort. "I promise I won't tell anyone, Ginny. Besides, I _could_ just start taking random guesses." I tapped my chin with false thoughtfulness. Then I snapped my fingers loudly as if I had just had an epiphany. "Is it Roy?"

Ginny made a gagging noise and laughed. "No," she turned red again. "It's Harry," her voice was barely over a whisper.

I nodded. It wasn't any secret that Ginny had a massive crush on Harry. The first time she told me I had to hold myself back from running to him immediately and telling him. To speed the conversation up a bit, I asked "So what exactly do you plan on doing?"

Ginny shrugged, blushing even more. "I kind of wrote him a song…"

I looked at her with my eyes wide. "A song? And the dwarf is gonna sing it?" Ginny shrugged again. "Well, you should go on and go ahead with it. It might be a chance for him to figure out that you've got a massive crush on him." Ginny gave me a fake glare and we continued the day practicing our Levitating Charms.

* * *

On Valentine's Day, there seemed to be an overwhelming amount of couples everywhere. They were _everywhere_! In the corridors, on the grounds, even in class. I hadn't noticed until today that Jade Olivia and Maynard Hatton, another Slytherin boy in our year, had been sitting together during classes. Today they were fearlessly holding hands, glaring at anyone who dared to watch them with disapproving eyes.

I was strolling through the corridors on my way to Potions with Ginny when a clamor erupted somewhere up the hall. I pushed and pried my way to the front of the group with Ginny clutching my shoulder. We arrived on the scene of Harry being pulled around by a dwarf wearing a sash and clutching a harp. I felt my eyes widen as I realized that this was the Valentine Ginny had sent to Harry. Ginny must've realized too, for her eyes had gotten really wide and she looked scared and embarrassed out of her mind.

"What's all this commotion?" Percy Weasley's voice rang out clearly above the heads of all the other students. Harry tried to make a run for it, but the dwarf seized him around his knees and brought him crashing down. Once Harry was on the ground, the dwarf sat down heavily on his ankles.

"Right then," he said in an ugly, croaky voice. "Here's your singing Valentine." Then, to my horror, the dwarf opened his mouth and began to deliver his singing Valentine.

_"His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad, his hair as dark as a blackboard. I wish he was mine, he's really divine. The hero who conquered the Dark Lord."_

The crowd surrounding us was crying with laughter at this point. I saw Harry trying to laugh along, but the deep shade of red on his face told me that he would give all the gold in Gringotts to just disappear.

"Off you go, off you go. The bell rang five minutes ago, off to class, now," I admired Percy for the way he was trying to shoo everyone away but he might as well been talking to a wall. "_And_ you, Malfoy—"

I hadn't noticed Draco there 'til this moment, where he was stooping down to snatch something. Leering, he showed it to Crabbe and Goyle, who had taken their rightful places behind him. I swiftly recognized the small black book he waved in his hand. It was the diary Ginny and I had tried to flush.

My blood went cold and Ginny noticed as well. Her eyes filled with tears as Draco teased Harry with it.

"Wonder what Potter's written in this?" Draco sneered to the crowd. Harry got back to his feet and confronted him.

"Hand it back, Malfoy," Percy ordered in a tone that I wouldn't want to mess with.

"When I've had a look," Draco said dismissively, waving the diary tauntingly in front of Harry.

"As a school prefect…" Whatever Percy was going to say I never heard because at that moment Harry had pointed his want at Draco's hand and shouted: _"Expelliarmus!" _The diary zoomed out of Draco's hand and into Harry's.

"Harry!" Percy exclaimed. "No magic in the corridors. I'll have to report this, you know."

Harry looked like he couldn't have cared less. Draco was looking furious. I nudged Ginny, trying to get us to class. That's when Draco saw her on the verge of tears and decided to take his anger out on her.

"I don't think Potter liked your valentine much!"

Ginny covered her face with her hands and ran away. I whipped around and glared harshly at Draco. "You're a horrible human being!"

There was an instant where genuine hurt gleamed in Draco's eyes, but it was gone so fast I'm still not positively sure it was ever there.

Without another word I stormed off after Ginny, knowing well enough that I wasn't going to go to Potions class today.

**A/N: What are the odds that this particular chapter would be unlucky number thirteen? Anywho, I have been looking forward to this chapter simply becuase it is one of my favorites...for some odd reason. Thanks to everyone reading this story and, everyone, REVIEW! A simple "good" would do it for me. Talk to y'all later! :D**


	14. 14: Iridescent

Dad had not been pleased when he discovered I had had skipped his Potions class. When I had joined him in his office after school that day, he greeted me by taking ten points from Slytherin and giving me detention. The detention was to be served right then, so he had me sort through herbs. It wasn't much of a chore to be honest.

After the whole dwarf incident, Ginny and I made a point about avoiding Harry. Ginny fretted to me constantly about how he reacted and how he'd never like her now. I merely nodded and began to wonder how Harry had gotten hold of Ginny's diary.

I brought this up to Ginny at one point and her eyes got wide and she looked scared for her life.

"Oh no!" She yelled, disrupting a snoozing picture that had a weathered old man sitting in a throne. He stood and walked out of the side of his picture, muttering angrily under his breath. Ginny paid him no mind. "What if he figures out how to write to Tom? What if Tom tells him all my secrets?" She got really pale. "What if Tom tells him whose been writing on the wall?"

This got me worried. Ginny could be expelled. I did some fast thinking. "You need to get that diary back."

"How?" Ginny asked me.

I thought once more. "When his dormitory is deserted, you should sneak in there and find the book. Then you bring it back here, and we try and figure out what to do with it then."

Ginny nodded enthusiastically the entire time. And so the plan was in motion; Ginny was to wait until the boys' dormitory was empty, and then she'd sneak up and find the diary. Then she was to hide the diary back with her things. It was a good enough plan, I suppose. The next day Ginny came running up to me and flashed me the diary from under her robe.

Now we just had to figure out what to do with it.

In the meantime it had been nearly four months since Nearly-Headless Nick and the boy, named Justin, had been Petrified. Everyone seemed to think that the attacker, whoever he was, had retired for good. Everyone seemed to be treating Harry better, finally getting over the idea of Harry being the Heir of Slytherin. And in March, a large group of Mandrakes threw a wild party, which made Professor Sprout very happy.

"When they start climbing into each other's' pots, that's when we'll know that they're fully grown." I heard Professor Sprout tell Dad the other day. I had nodded and continued sorting herbs.

I found myself looking forward to the Quidditch game that Saturday. It was Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff, so it gave me a reason to root for Gryffindor. And on top of that, the weather was brilliant, with streaks of sunshine bathing everyone in its joyful glow. I strolled down to the Quidditch pitch with Jaime a little ways a head of me; I didn't bother to catch up, knowing I wouldn't be accepted into his circle of friends anyway.

But right before the game began, I spotted Professor McGonagall hurrying on to the field looking alarmed and carrying a large purple megaphone.

"What d'you think she wants?" Jaime asked me. His emerald eyes were narrowed with suspicion.

"Dunno," I said, shrugging. "Whatever it is, it can't be good."

And sure enough, McGonagall raised the megaphone to her mouth and delivered the news that would immediately ruin everyone's mood. "This match has been cancelled," The packed stadium began to boo and shout. "All students are to make their way back to the House Common Rooms, where their Head of Houses will give them further information. As quickly as you can, please!"

The crowd slowly started flooding back to the castle. I was caught walking beside Jaime back to the Slytherin Common Room. When we returned, the Bloody Baron was floating close to the entrance, wearing a rather worried expression on his usual stern face. Jaime and I didn't manage to get a seat on the couches or chairs, so we had to make do by standing on the edge of the crowd. It was a tense five minutes before Dad swept into the Common Room; he was wearing the same anxious expression as the Bloody Baron.

Silence spread over the dungeon as we all gazed at Professor Snape, eager to know exactly what cost us a day out in the sun. His black eyes swept over us all, lingering for a moment on me. Then with a sigh and a slight frown, he unrolled a scroll and began to read off of it.

"There has been a double attack," there was a few gasps and worried cries at this, but they were silenced quickly by one of Dad's famous glares. "As a result, all students will return to their Common Rooms by six o'clock in the evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All further Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities."

We had listened to Dad in silence. He rolled the scroll back up and gave us a look filled with apologies. "It is likely that the school will be closed unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught. I would urge anyone who thinks they might know anything about them to come forward."

As I fought back the urge to come clean about everything, Dad's eyes traveled directly to me and rested there for a brief moment. My heart thumped in my chest; how could he even suspect that I had anything to do with it? But without another word, Dad swept his robes and left.

The next day brought a shock to everyone. Hagrid, the groundskeeper, had been taken away by the Minister. I heard everyone say that Hagrid had been the one behind the attacks the whole time, which I found absolutely absurd. Hagrid had always seemed really nice; surely he couldn't be the Heir of Slytherin? And to make matters worse, Professor Dumbledore was gone too. With him gone, I truly felt like anyone would be attacked at any moment.

* * *

I finally found out who had been attacked. A Ravenclaw prefect named Penelope Clearwater, and Hermione Granger. I had tried to visit Hermione at first, but the Hospital Wing had put a ban on visitors.

"We're not taking chances," Madam Pomfrey had told me. "There's still a chance the attacker might come back to finish these people off…"

There was barely a face in the school that wasn't tense or worried. Laughter ceased to exist and any laughter that was heard was shrill and forced sounding. Most people were happy to have teachers shepherd them around like sheep, but I was starting to get annoyed by it.

The only person who seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere of terror was Draco Malfoy. He had taken to strutting around the castle as if he owned the place. I eventually overheard him talking in a loud voice to Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, Cersei, and Jaime.

"I always thought Father might be the one who got rid of Dumbledore. I told you he thinks Dumbledore's the worst headmaster the school's ever had. Maybe we'll get a decent headmaster now. Someone who won't _want _the Chamber of Secrets closed. McGonagall won't last long; she's only filling in…"

And this went on and on until I started feeling a deep throbbing behind my temple.

"I'm quite surprised the Mudbloods haven't all packed their bags by now," Draco droned on, glancing every now and then at me to make sure I was listening. "Bet you five Galleons the next one dies. Pity it wasn't Granger-"

I finally lost my patience at this remark and I slammed the book I had been attempting to read shut. I stalked past Draco and the rest towards the direction of my dormitory. As I left, I saw Cersei lean towards Pansy and she said, loud enough for me to hear:

"Figures the blood traitor would get upset about all this: blood traitors are almost worse than Mudbloods."

Their cruel laughter filled my ears and I felt the beginnings of tears sting my eyes. A blind rage took over and without thinking, I whipped around and shouted: _"Langlock!"_

Immediately Cersei began pawing at her throat, swallowed, then started waving her arms around in obscene gestures but unable to speak, owing to the fact that her tongue had just glued itself to the roof of her mouth.

I stormed out of the Common Room then, fully aware that the jinx would eventually wear off and that Cersei would be after revenge. The jinx I had used wasn't one they'd know either; Dad had taught it to me before starting school (not to mention he used it on me whenever I would whine about something). Though he had told me only to use it whenever it was necessary, and to not go about willy-nilly gluing people's tongues to the top of their mouths. That had been the first time I'd actually used it on someone.

I finished my homework while sitting on my four-poster bed. I was almost finished when Astoria Greengrass entered, looking very tired. She looked at me with a blank expression on her face. I met her eyes, and eventually we looked away from each other. I had begun working on my homework again when she spoke.

"The jinx you used on Cersei," She looked nervous when she said this, as if just by speaking to me Cersei or Pansy would attack her. "Will it wear off?"

I nodded with my eyes narrowed. Where was she going with this?

Astoria looked disappointed for a moment. "Too bad, I like her better when she's not talking."

We laughed and for a moment, I felt like Astoria and I could've become friends. But then Cersei stormed in with Jade at her heels, both looking like they smelled something disgusting. Upon their arrival, Astoria's nervous smile was wiped from her face and was replaced with blank indifference.

I finished my homework and went to bed, but I kept an ear out for any suspicious noises coming from Cersei's bed.

**A/N: Now things are gonna really start to pick up! After this chapter there are...I think four chapters left in this story. which means we'll finally be able to move on with the series! Hazah! Well, just thought I'd clue y'allin on that, talk to you later. :)**


	15. 15: A Fraud

As if the year could've gotten any worse, Dad dropped a bomb on us during Potions the next day.

_"Exams?"_ Jaime cried, his emerald eyes wide. "You mean we're still getting exams?"

"That is precisely what I mean, Mr. Clegane." Dad sneered. "The whole point of keeping the school open is for you to receive your education. The exams therefore take place as usual, and I hope you are all studying hard."

It had never occurred to me that there would be exams with the school in this state. There was a large amount of muttering going on around the classroom that even the cauldrons bubbling couldn't have shut out. This only made Dad scowl darkly.

"Professor Dumbledore's instructions were to keep the school running as normally as possible," He said. "And that means finding out how much you have learned this year."

I thought back to all the History of Magic classes I had slept through. What had I learned this year? Surely not enough to pass my exams. I couldn't think any more on the subject though; my potion had started whizzing and sending up bright yellow spirals into the air, signaling that it was time for me to start stirring it counterclockwise.

Three days before the first exam, Professor McGonagall made an announcement at breakfast.

"I have good news," She said, and the Great Hall erupted.

"Dumbledore's coming back?" Some people cried hopefully.

"You've caught the Heir of Slytherin?" A girl from the Ravenclaw table called out.

"Quidditch matches are back on?" A burly sixth year from the Gryffindor table cheered.

When everyone calmed down significantly, McGonagall decided to continue. "Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight, we will be able to revive those people who have been Petrified. I need hardly remind you all that one of them may well be able to tell us who, or what, attacked them. I am hopeful that this dreadful year will end with our catching the culprit."

I joined in with the explosion of cheering that overthrew the Great Hall. I was so happy to be able to say that I'd survived this terrible year, that I hardly noticed it when a familiar mane of red hair hurriedly left the Great Hall.

The rest of the day passed by in a multi-color blur; everyone seemed so excited by the idea of getting their friends back. It only came to a halt when Potions class came around, and I noticed Ginny wasn't there. Ginny never missed class, so there wasn't a reason for her not to be here. I felt worried and could hardly focus on my potion. I didn't know why, but there was a nagging feeling in my stomach that was telling me that something was up.

That nagging feeling turned to guilt. I started feeling guilty for keeping all these secrets about the Chamber of Secrets, even though now it probably didn't matter. By tomorrow all the victims of the Heir of Slytherin would be awake, and everyone will know who attacked them. But the feeling haunted me for the whole day, and I finally got tired of it. So I headed to the staffroom.

I still hadn't figured out what I was going to say or if I was even going to say anything when I entered the staffroom to find Harry Potter and Ron Weasley standing there.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked me accusingly.

I refused to answer; instead I challenged him back with the classic childish retort: "Well, what are you doing here?"

"I asked you first!" Ron fired back. Harry opened his mouth like he was about to say something when McGonagall's voice burst over the intercom.

_"All students to return to their House dormitories at once. All teachers return to the staffroom. Immediately, please."_

Harry turned towards Ron, ignoring me. "Another attack? Not now?"

Ron looked momentarily terrified. "What do we do? Go back to the dormitory?"

"No," I said, causing both of them to jump. It seemed as if they had forgotten I was there. I looked around and spotted an ugly wardrobe full of teachers' cloaks. "In here. Let's hear what it's all about."

I jumped into the wardrobe and Harry followed me without hesitation. Ron came reluctantly after a moment of hesitation. We were crammed together when the teachers filed into the staffroom. Some of the teachers looked puzzled, other looked downright scared. Then Professor McGonagall arrived.

"It has happened," She told the silent staffroom. "A student has been taken by the monster. Right into the Chamber itself."

Professor Flitwick let out a squeak. Professor Sprout clapped her hands over her mouth. I saw Dad grip the back of a chair so hard his knuckles turned white, and he said: "How can you be sure?"

"The Heir of Slytherin," Professor McGonagall said, her face looking very white. "Has left another message. Right underneath the first one. _Her skeleton shall lie in the Chamber forever._"

"Who is it?" Madam Hooch asked while Professor Flitwick burst into tears. "Which child has been taken?"

"Ginny Weasley," Professor McGonagall said.

My blood turned to ice while Ron slid to his knees.

"We'll have to send the children home tomorrow." McGonagall said heavily. "I'm afraid this is the end of Hogwarts."

The staffroom door burst open and Professor Lockhart came in with his hair slightly rumbled. He beamed at all the teachers in turn. "Sorry—dozed off—what have I missed?"

He never noticed that the teachers were all looking at him with something that looked remarkably like hatred. Dad stepped forward.

"Just the man," He said with the familiar scowl playing upon his lips. "The very man. A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart. Taken into the Chamber of Secrets itself. Your moment has come at last."

Lockhart turned white.

"That's right, Gilderoy," Professor Sprout chipped in. "Weren't you just saying last night that you've known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?"

"I—well, I—" Lockhart sputtered; he suddenly didn't look very charming anymore.

"Yes, and didn't you tell me you were sure you knew what was inside it?" Professor Flitwick piped up.

"D-did I? I don't recall—"

"I certainly remember you saying you were sorry you hadn't had a crack at the monster before Hagrid was arrested," Dad said, taking another step forward. "Didn't you say that the whole affair had been bungled, and that you should have been given a free rein from the first?"

My dad is awesome.

Lockhart raised his hands up into a surrender-like fashion. "I—I really never—you may have misunderstood,"

"We'll leave it to you, then, Gilderoy," Professor McGonagall said. Now will be an excellent time to do it. We'll make sure everyone's out of your way. You'll be able to tackle the monster all by yourself. A free rein at last."

Lockhart didn't look very handsome anymore. He looked around him with a look of desperation on his face, but no one came to his rescue. His lip was trembling; I found myself enjoying every moment of Lockhart's suffering.

Finally, he said, "Very well. I'll just be—ah—in my office…getting ready." And he left the room.

"Right," Professor McGonagall said. "That's got _him_ out of the way. The Heads of Houses should go and inform their students what has happened. Tell them the Hogwarts Express will take them home first thing tomorrow. Will the rest of you please make sure no students have been left outside their dormitories."

The teachers rose and left, one by one.

It was a while before Harry deemed it safe enough to venture from our wardrobe. Ron was white and shaking, I myself felt my body tremor. Ginny surely wasn't…dead? I thought back to the girl who had become my very first friend. The thought of never seeing her, or Hogwarts, ever again, made me want to be sick.

"She knew something, Harry," Ron spoke up. I raised an eyebrow in question but Ron continued. "That's why she was taken. It wasn't something stupid about Percy at all. She'd found out something about the Chamber of Secrets. That must be why she was…" Ron paused to rub his eyes frantically. "I mean, she was pure-blood. There can't be any other reason."

My mind had begun working a mile a minute. "I think we should go see Lockhart. Tell him what we know. He's going to try to get into the Chamber anyway…"

"And who said _you_ were even going to come, _Snape_," Ron turned on me suddenly, looking very angry. Harry hissed at his friend but Ron ignored him. "Why would you even want to come? Other than to spy on Harry and me so your dad can get us detention."

Harry rolled his eyes at Ron and I could tell this was not the first he had heard of Ron's theory. I turned towards Ron and drew myself up to full height. And looking directly into his yes I said, "Because she's my best friend. And I knew about Tom's diary." I saw a look of mild surprise cross both boys' faces but I continued. "And because I didn't take her seriously enough when she told me about it. So if anything happens to her, it's _my_ fault. You can try and make me stay behind, but I'm not going to. I'm not gonna not go and beat myself up for the rest of my life about it."

Both boys looked at me with expressions mixed with awe and, in Ron's case, faint annoyance. Feeling satisfied about getting all up in their faces, I stormed out of the staffroom towards Lockhart's office. And I couldn't keep a faint smile away from my lips when I heard the two boys following me.

On the way to Lockhart's office I filled Harry and Ron in on what I knew, being careful not to run into any professors on the way there. They returned the favor by explaining what they knew. When we entered the class, we were surprised to see it almost completely bare. Harry shrugged and led the way up the stairs to Lockhart's office. There seemed to be an awful lot of activity going on in there. Harry knocked three times and it went completely silent.

The door opened the tiniest crack and we saw one of Lockhart's eyes peering out at us. "Oh—Mr. Potter—Mr. Weasley—Ms. Snape…" He opened the door a little wider. "I'm rather busy at the moment—if you would be quick…"

"Professor, we've got some information for you," Harry said. "We think it'll help you."

Lockhart opened the door and we entered. His office had been almost completely stripped. Two large trunks stood open on the floor. Robes of jade-green, lilac, midnight-blue and various other colors had been hastily folded into one of them; books were jumbled untidily into the other. Lockhart's photographs that had covered the walls were now crammed into boxes on the desk.

"Are you going somewhere?" I asked, hearing my voice get sharper.

"Er, well, yes," Lockhart said, trying to shove more photographs into one box. "Urgent call—unavoidable—got to go…"

"What about my sister?" Ron asked jerkily.

"Well, as to that—most unfortunate…" Lockhart said, avoiding our eyes. "No one regrets more than I…"

"You're the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!" I said, curling my lip just like my dad would've. Lockhart must've noticed because he flinched away from me.

"Well—I must say—when I took the job—nothing in the job description—didn't expect…"

"You're _running away_?" Harry said disbelievingly. "After all that stuff you did in your books—"

"Books can be misleading," Lockhart said defensively.

"You wrote them!" I shouted.

"My dear children," Lockhart said, straightening. "Do use your common sense. My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think _I'd _done all those things. No one wants to read about some ugly Armenian warlock, even if he did save a village from werewolves. He'd look dreadful on the front cover. No dress sense at all. And the witch who banished the Bandon Banshee had a harelip. I mean, come on—"

"So you've just been taking credit for things others have done?" Harry asked, as if he couldn't believe his ears.

"Harry, Harry," Lockhart said, shaking his head. "There's more work to it than that. I had to track these people down. Ask them exactly how they managed to do what they did. Then I had to put a Memory Charm on them so they wouldn't remember doing it. If there's one thing I pride myself on, it's my Memory Charms. It's not all book signings and publicity photos, you know. You want fame; you have to be prepared for a long hard slog."

He banged the lids of his trunks shut and locked them. "Let's see, I think that's everything. Yes. Only one thing left."

He pulled out his wand and turned to us. "Awfully sorry, kids, but I'll have to put a Memory Charm on you now. Can't have you blabbing my secrets all over the place. I'd never sell another book."

But before Lockhart could even raise his wand, Harry had already lifted his and said: _"Expelliarmus!" _ Lockhart's wand flew out of his hand and into Ron's hand. Ron then chucked it out the open window.

Lockhart looked at us miserably as we all raised our wands to his face. "What d'you want me to do?" He said weakly. "I don't know where the Chamber of Secrets is. There's nothing I can do."

"You're in luck," Harry said while forcing Lockhart up by wandpoint. "We think we know where it is. _And _what's inside it. Let's go."

**A/N: Please note that I have changed Jaime and Cersei's last name from Lewis to Clegane. Since they are pure-bloods, Lewis didn't seem much like a magical name, and besides a future character will have ties to Jaime and Cersei's family whose last name will be Clegane, so to avoid confusing anyone, I've just changed our least favorite pair of twins' last name. Talk to y'all later. :)**


	16. 16: The Chamber of Secrets

I had to glue Lockhart's tongue to the top of his mouth twice to avoid him shouting out to the few teachers we ran into. Other than that, it was a very quiet march to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. We sent Lockhart in first; I was immensely pleased to see he was shaking.

Moaning Myrtle was sitting on the tank of the end toilet. "Oh, it's you," She said when she saw Harry. "What do you want this time?"

"To ask you how you died," Harry said.

Myrtle's whole demeanor changed; she looked as if she had never been asked a more flattering question. "Ooooh, it was dreadful," She said with relish dripping from her voice, "It happened right here. I died in this very stall. I remember it so well. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked, and I was crying, and then I heard someone come in. They said something funny. A different language, I think it must've been. Anyway, what really got me was that it was a _boy_ speaking. So I unlocked the toilet to tell him to go away, and then—I died." Myrtle swelled up with pride, her face shining.

"How?" I asked, feeling as if there were a few holes in this story.

Myrtle glared at me. "No idea, I just remember seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes. My whole body sort of seized up, and then I was floating away…" She looked dreamily at Harry. "And then I came back again. I was determined to haunt Olive Hornby, you see. Oh, she was sorry she'd ever laughed at my glasses."

"Where exactly did you see the eyes?" Harry asked.

"Somewhere over there," Myrtle waved her hand vaguely over to the sink directly in front of her toilet. We hurried to it and searched that sink up and down. It looked like an ordinary sink. Then Harry gave a shout; he had found a small snake carved on to one of the copper taps.

"The tap's never worked," Myrtle said brightly from somewhere behind us.

"Harry, say something," Ron said. "Say something in Parseltongue."

Harry nodded and faced the sink. "Open up," He said hopefully. He turned to us but Ron and I shook our heads.

"English," I said. Harry faced the sink again with a look of painful concentration on his face. This time a disgusting, hissing and snarling noise came out of Harry's mouth when it opened. Lockhart flinched something dreadful behind us, but Ron and I were staring at Harry with amazement in our eyes.

There was a gurgling noise and the sink started to slide apart. It continued until there was a decent hole big enough for an adult to slide into. Ron turned towards Lockhart, "You can go first."

"Now, what good will this do?" Lockhart asked, feeble and wandless he made his way over to the hole. Once Lockhart's back was turned, Ron jabbed him with the end of his wand, causing Lockhart to fly into the hole. Ron then turned to me. "Ladies first,"

I glared at Ron but didn't make any objection. I swung my legs into the hole before kicking off.

It was like going on a slide after it had just finished raining. I felt my robes dampen instantly as the pipe twisted and turned and I tumbled to the ground below with a jolt. Lockhart had just gotten out of the way, so I didn't hit him. But I wasn't so lucky; Ron came crashing down into my back that made sparks of pain erupt. I glared at him through narrowed eyes and he glared right back. We managed to untangle ourselves from each other by the time Harry slid down.

"We must be miles under the school," Harry noted through the gloom. His voice echoed around the dark tunnel.

"Under the lake, probably," Ron stated, squinting around at the dark, slimy walls.

We all turned towards the looming darkness ahead of us. Somewhere behind me, Harry whispered, _"Lumos,". _And then Harry led the way into crushing blackness. "Remember, any sign of movement, close your eyes right away…"

I didn't think Harry didn't need to say anything. The tunnel was so dark that we could only see a little distance ahead. Our shadows on their walls looked monstrous in the wandlight.

There was an unexpected crunch that made all us jump and made Lockhart squeal like a piglet. Turns out Ron had stepped on what looked like a rat's skull. Harry lowered the light to look at what appeared to be a carpet of small animal bones. I forced myself not to think about what Ginny might look like when we found her.

"Harry—there's something up there—" Ron said, grabbing Harry's shoulder. I immediately closed my eyes as tightly as possible.

"Maybe it's sleeping," I heard Harry say. The crunch of bones followed and I felt my stomach clench as I pictured Harry stepping forward to get eaten alive by a giant snake.

"Blimey," Ron whispered from beside me. His voice grew sharper. "You can open your eyes now, Snape. It's just a snake skin." I opened my eyes to see a gigantic snake skin, poisonous green, lying curled and empty across the tunnel floor. Whatever had shed it must've been twenty feet at least.

There was a sudden movement behind us; Gilderoy Lockhart had fainted.

Ron kicked Lockhart gently in the side. "Get up," Lockhart flew to his feet and took a dive at Ron, knocking him to the ground. I jumped forward with Harry at my side, but too late—Lockhart was straightening up, panting, pointing Ron's wand at all of us in turn.

"The adventure ends here," Lockhart panted, looking mad. "I shall take a bit of the skin back up to the school; tell them I was too late to save the girl, and that you three _tragically _lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body. Say goodbye to your memories!"

He raised Ron's crooked wand high over his head and yelled, with a triumphed grin, _"Obliviate!"_

The wand exploded with the force of a small bomb. I flung my arms above my head as I was blasted backwards—into Harry—and over the coils of snakeskin. Chunks of rock were raining down from the ceiling and thundering down to the stone floor below. When it had settled, there was a thick layer of dust circling the air and a high tower of boulders that blocked me and Harry from Ron and Lockhart.

"Ron!" Harry shouted beside me. "Ron, are you okay?"

There was muffled but strong, "Yeah!" in answer. "I'm okay—this git's not—he got blasted by the wand. What now?" Ron sounded desperate. "We can't get through—it'll take ages…"

We were wasting time; Ginny had already been in the Chamber of Secrets for hours. Harry seemed to read my mind.

"Wait there," Harry called to Ron. "We'll go on. If we're not back in an hour…"

There was a pause that seemed to stretch forever.

"I'll try and shift some of this rock," Ron said, who seemed to be trying to keep his voice steady. "So you can—can get back through."

"See you in a bit," Harry called, he was trying hard to force some confidence into his voice.

We set off side by side deeper into the tunnel.

"Calla," Harry said, breaking the silence after a few moments of walking. "I think you should stay back and try to shift some rock."

I turned to look at Harry full in the face. "I'm staying with you, Harry. I've made it this far, I'm in this 'til the end." I cracked a weak smile. "Besides, I don't think Ron would like me trying to help."

Harry gave a small smile that looked forced, and we continued in silence. We continued strolling along the winding tunnel until we came to a solid wall on which two entwined serpents were carved, their eyes set with great, gleaming emeralds.

Harry put his arm out in front of me to stop me. When I halted, he stepped forward with a grim look of determination on his face. He opened his mouth and a faint, low hiss came out.

The serpents parted as the wall cracked open, the halves slid smoothly out of sight. I gave a rattling sigh and Harry reached over the distance between us and grabbed my hand. And together we walked into the pitch black cave.


	17. 17: The Heir of Slytherin

We were in a very long, very dim chamber. Towering pillars intertwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling so high it got lost in the darkness.

I could feel myself shaking as we stood in silence for a moment or two. Was the basilisk lurking around the corner? And more importantly, where was Ginny?

Harry and I pulled out our wands and began to walk the long stretch of hall. I was prepared to snap my eyes shut again at the tiniest flicker of movement, but nothing came. Then, a large statue loomed over us. I had to crane my neck to see its face; it was ancient and monkeyish, with a long thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard's sweeping stone robes. And between its feet, facedown laid a small black-robed figure with flaming-red hair.

"Ginny," I heard Harry mutter, and we charged towards her body, throwing all caution to the wind. We shifted her body around to lay her on her back. Her face was as white as snow.

"Ginny, don't be dead," I murmured, praying that she could actually hear me. "Please don't be dead—wake up—wake up!"

"She won't wake," a soft voice said.

Harry and I jumped out of our skins and spun around. A tall, black-haired boy was leaning against the nearest pillar, watching. I didn't recognize him, even though he was wearing Slytherin robes.

But Harry must've recognized him, for he said, "Tom—Tom Riddle?"

The boy nodded, not taking his eyes off Harry's face. So this was the same Tom Ginny had been talking to through the diary?

"What d'you mean she won't wake?" Harry asked. "You don't mean she's—" He didn't seem able to be able to say it.

"She's still alive," Riddle said. "But only just,"

"Are you a ghost?" Harry asked.

"A memory," Riddle said quietly. "Preserved in a diary for fifty years,"

He pointed to the floor close to Ginny's feet, revealing that stupid black diary. For a second I wondered how it had gotten there, but I pushed it from my mind and looked back to Riddle.

"You've got to help, Tom," Harry said, rushing back to Ginny's side. "We've got to get her out of here. There's a basilisk—what are you doing with my wand, Tom?"

I was snapped to attention to see Riddle twirling two wands in his hands. I immediately saw mine and realized the other must be Harry's.

"The basilisk won't come until it's called," Riddle said calmly. His eyes had never left Harry's face; for a moment I felt extremely left out. Then I silently punished myself for even thinking that. So I decided to make my presence known.

"What d'you mean?" I asked. "Look, we need out wands. So if you'll just hand them over,"

I reached out my hand for the wands and Riddle pocketed them. His eyes roamed my face and I felt snakes writhing in my stomach.

With a pleasant smile, he looked into my eyes and said, "You won't be needing them,"

Harry took a step forward, "What d'you mean…?"

"I've waited a long time for this, Harry Potter," Riddle said. "For the chance to see you. To speak to you."

Harry looked to be losing patience. "Look, we can talk later—"

"We're going to talk now," Riddle said, his voice growing sharper.

I stared at him. There was something very funny going on here. I stepped towards Riddle, "How did Ginny get like this?"

Riddle looked to me and answered as if I had just asked him what the weather was like. "Well, that's an interesting question, and quite a long story. I suppose the real reason Ginny Weasley's like this is because she opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"The diary," Riddle replied in the same pleasant voice that made me want to punch him. "_My _diary. Little Ginny's been writing in it for months and months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes—how her brothers _tease _her, how she had to come to school with secondhand books, how her best friend would disappear a lot," I felt a flush creep up my neck. "And how she didn't think famous, good, great Harry Potter would _ever _like her…

"It's very boring, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven year old. But I was patient, I was kind. I wrote back. Ginny simply loved me. _No one's ever understood me like you, Tom…I'm so glad I've got this diary to confide in…It's like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket…"_

I felt anger boil up inside me as Riddle laughed a high-pitched, cold laugh that sounded completely out of character. It instantly cooled the anger inside me and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

"If I say so myself, I've always been able to charm the people I needed. So Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted…I grew stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of my secrets, to start pouring a little bit of my soul back into her…"

"What d'you mean?" I asked, my mouth going dry.

"Haven't you guessed yet?" Riddle asked softly. "Ginny Weasley opened the Chamber of Secrets. She strangled the school roosters and daubed threatening messages on the walls. She sent the Serpent of Slytherin on four Mudbloods, and the Squib's cat.

"Of course, she didn't _know_ what she was doing at first. It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen her new diary entries…far more interesting, they became…_Dear Tom," _His voice reached a higher octave as he mimicked Ginny's voice. _"I think I'm losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes and I don't know how they got there. Dear Tom, Percy keeps telling me I'm pale and I'm not myself. I think he suspects me…There was another attack today and I don't know where I was. Tom, what am I going to do? I think I'm going mad…I think I'm the one attacking everyone, Tom!"_

I wanted to punch that boy's smug smile off his face.

"It took a very a long time for stupid little Ginny to stop trusting her diary," Riddle said. "But she finally became suspicious and tried to dispose of it. And that's where you came in, Harry. You found it, and I couldn't have been more delighted. Of all the people who could have picked it up, it was _you_, the very person I was most anxious to meet…"

"Why did you want to meet me?" Harry asked. I found myself turning my head from side to side as the conversation continued.

"Well, you see, Ginny told me all about you, Harry," Riddle said, his eyes roaming Harry's forehead where his scar sat. "Your whole fascinating history. I knew I must find out more about you, talk to you, and meet you if I could. So I decided to show you my famous capture of that great oaf, Hagrid, to gain your trust…"

"Hagrid's my friend," Harry said, his voice shaking. "And you framed him."

Now I was completely lost.

"It was my word against Hagrid's. Only the Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, believed he was innocent." Riddle said, his eyes narrowing. "He convinced Dippet to keep Hagrid as a gamekeeper."

"I bet Dumbledore saw right through you," I said, bracing myself against Riddle. He turned his dark eyes to me.

"He did keep an annoyingly close eye on me after that. I knew it wouldn't be safe to open the Chamber again while I was still at school. So I decided to leave diary, preserving myself in its pages, so that one day, I would be able to lead another in my footsteps, and finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work."

"Well it hasn't worked this time," Harry said triumphantly, and taking a step forward.

"That's right," I said, taking a step forward so that Harry and I were standing shoulder to shoulder. "In a few hours the Mandrake potion will be ready, and all those who have Petrified _will be normal again."_

"Haven't I already told you?" Riddle asked, his eyes looking from me to Harry expectantly. "Killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me anymore. For many months my new target has been you, Harry."

We stared at Riddle while he explained. "Imagine how angry I was when the next time my diary was opened, it was Ginny Weasley writing to me, not you. She saw you with the diary and panicked. It became clear to me that you were on the trail oh Slytherin's heir. From everything Ginny had told me about you, I knew you would go to any lengths to solve a mystery—particularly if one of your best friends was attacked. So I made Ginny write her own farewell on the wall and come down here to wait. She struggled and cried, but there wasn't much life left in her…she put too much into the diary, into me. Enough for me to leave its pages…I have many questions for you, Harry Potter."

"Like what?" Harry asked through his teeth.

Riddle's eyes narrowed with sudden fury. "Like how did a _baby_, manage to defeat the greatest sorcerer in the world? How did Lord Voldemort's powers shatter, while you escaped with nothing more than a _scar_?" There was an odd red gleam in Riddle's eyes.

"Why do you care if I escaped?" Harry asked, spreading his arms out wide. "Voldemort was after your time."

Riddle cocked his head to the side. "Voldemort is my past, my present, and my future." He turned away from us and waved Harry's wand through the air to write, in shining letters, _Tom Marvolo Riddle_. Then he slashed the wand through the air and the letters switched and rearranged themselves. I felt the hair on my neck stand up straight. The shining letters now spelled the words that I had never expected to see.

_I Am Lord Voldemort._

* * *

**A/N: *insert dramatic music here* Well this chapter was supposed to be longer, but I felt it was getting TOO long. So here is part one of what happenes in the Chamber, part two should be up later...Just a few more chapters to go until this story is finished!**


	18. 18: The Basilisk

"You see?" Riddle asked, his dark eyes pouring into Harry's brilliant green eyes and my deep black ones. "It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only. You think I was going to use my filthy Muggle father's name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother's side? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No—I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!"

My mind was running a million miles an hour. Tom Riddle, the one who had been making Ginny's life a living hell for months was actually Lord Voldemort? I flinched even as I thought his name. Riddle noticed and gave me a broad smile that made me feel as though there were snakes writhing around in my stomach.

"You're not," Harry's voice was quiet, quiet and filled with hatred.

"Not what?" Riddle snapped, his eyes dragging from me to Harry.

"Not the greatest sorcerer in the world," Harry said, panting. "The greatest sorcerer in the world is Albus Dumbledore."

In that moment, I admired Harry for his bravery. But the smile had gone from Riddle's face and it was replaced with an ugly look.

"Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere _memory_ of me!" He hissed.

Harry opened his mouth for retaliation, but was interrupted by an eerie, spine-tingling music. It was getting louder. It made the hair on my neck stand up and made me feel as if my heart was swelling twice its normal size. Then, as the music reached such a pitch that I felt it vibrating my bones, flames erupted at the top of the nearest pillar.

A crimson bird the size of a swan had appeared, piping its weird music to the vaulted ceiling. It had a glittering golden tail and gleaming golden talons, which were gripping a ragged bundle. A second later it was flying towards me and Harry, and it dropped the ragged bundle at our feet. It circled back to perch on its pillar. The bird had stopped singing. It sat still and gazed steadily at Riddle.

_"Fawkes?" _Harry breathed. I glanced down at the bundle and realized it was the Sorting Hat.

Riddle began to laugh again; it sounded gleeful and triumphant.

"So this is what Dumbledore send his champions," Riddle sneered. "A songbird and an old hat." He turned away from us again and strode to the statue of his ancestor. "Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against famous Harry Potter, and the best weapons Dumbledore can give him…" He then began to issue a loud, gurgling noise that hissed and snarled.

The statue of Slytherin began to open its mouth wider and wider, to make a large black hole. And something was stirring inside the statue's mouth. Something was coming closer…

Harry grabbed my hand and started to pull me away from the statue. Our backs hit the stone wall and we were cornered.

"Close your eyes, Calla," Harry hissed in my ear. I did what I was told and shut my eyes as tightly as possible. I heard something big hit the stone floor of the Chamber and I felt my heart flutter in my chest like a trapped bird. I could almost see the giant snake uncoiling itself from Slytherin's mouth. Then I heard Riddle's Parseltongue pierce the air.

The basilisk was moving towards us, I could hear its huge body sliding gracefully at us. Harry grabbed my hand again and pulled me into a blind run sideways. Riddle was laughing…

Harry tripped in front of me and we both tumbled to the ground in a heap. I tasted the blood in my mouth and heard the basilisk get closer. I am going to die, I thought helplessly…

There was a sudden spitting sound right above us, and something heavy hit the wall next to us and showering rocks on to our backs. I could hear more mad hissing, something thrashing wildly off the pillars…

"Calla, open your eyes now," Harry ordered. Half of me wanted to call him crazy and refuse, but without thinking I snapped my eyes back open and looked at what was happening above.

An enormous serpent, bright, poisonous green, thick as an oak trunk, had raised itself high in the air and its great blunt head was weaving drunkenly between the pillars. Fawkes was soaring overhead, the basilisk snapping its jaws furiously at him with fangs long and thin as sabers. Fawkes dived. His long golden beak sank out of sight and a sudden shower of dark blood spattered me and Harry. The snake's tail thrashed, narrowly missing us, and before either of us could shut our eyes, it turned—I found myself looking straight into eyes that were still spurting blood. The snake was spitting in agony.

"NO!" Riddle screamed. He was looked at me and Harry with hatred etched into his face. "Your bird may have blinded the basilisk, but it can still _hear _you!"

Harry and I stood up and without a glance at me, Harry dashed off, making as much noise as he could. The basilisk turned its blunt head at him and began to follow, completely ignoring me. I stood completely still until the serpent's tail had vanished around the corner, then I broke into a run heading straight for where Ginny's body was still laying.

"Funny," I flinched at the sound of Riddle's voice. He was looking at me with an expression that resembled wonder. "Funny to think that a _Gryffindor_," Riddle sneered the word, as if it was a synonym for filth. "Would become, what she told me, best friends with someone who is in Slytherin."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Well, you don't know me."

"Oh, but I do, Calla Margaret Snape," I stared at Riddle, bewildered at how he knew my full name. "Ginny has told me _all_ about you. How your father is the Potions master here. How you always helped her with her Potions and Charms homework." He paused and gave me a wide grin. "And in return I told her something about you that even _you_ don't know yet."

I stood up to full height. "What are you talking about?"

Riddle shrugged. "It's just something I know. I know that it's a _fact_ that you _will_ meet me again. And that you _will_ be a part of the noble work both your parents had the honor of serving."

Before I could ask him anything else, Harry ran out to the Chamber. He fell down beside me and Ginny, out of breath.

"In a few moments Ginny Weasley will be dead," Riddle said to Harry, ignoring my existence again. Harry tried shaking Ginny when there was an explosion from the water and the blind basilisk reared up, roaring in fury. Its tail thrashed over us again and something brown—the Sorting Hat—flapped its way into Harry's arms. Harry stared at it for a moment, his brows furrowed in confusion. But then he plunged his hand inside it and pulled out—my mouth dropped open—a gleaming silver sword, its handle glittering with blood red rubies.

_"KILL HIM!" _Riddle screamed in a sudden rage. _"SMELL HIM AND _KILL_ HIM!"_

The snake lunged blindly—Harry and I both separated and dodged out of its way. It lunged again, this time at me. I screamed and leaped out of the way, but I wasn't fast enough; one of the basilisk's fangs sliced my leg. It spilt the robes and got right down to the flesh on my leg. White hot pain coursed through my leg as I screamed in pain and fury.

"HEY!" Harry's voice sucked me back to reality. "OVER HERE, YOU STUPID SNAKE!" The basilisk lunged in the direction of Harry's voice. It missed him completely, but lunged for another try. This time once the basilisk's wide open mouth was close enough, Harry ran the tip of his sword into the roof of the basilisk's mouth. The basilisk let out a long roar that was filled with agony. Harry's own screams mingled with it; a long pearly white fang was piercing right above his elbow.

Harry released the sword from the basilisk and it reared up one last time and swayed for a moment before coming crashing down it front of us. Harry grunted as the fang that had pierced his arm was ripped from his elbow. All I knew was that I was dizzy; the Chamber was sliding in and out of focus. I could barely see Harry crawling his way to me, the fang clutched in his bloody hand. Eventually he stopped out of exhaustion: I dragged myself over to him and laid down beside him.

"You're dead," Riddle's voice said somewhere above us. "Dead. Even Dumbledore's bird knows it. Do you see what he's doing? He's crying."

I blinked and looked up to where, true enough, Fawkes was perched in between me and Harry. Fat, pure white tears were rolling down his beak and on to Harry's arm. Harry's injured arm…

Dad had once told me something about phoenix tear—they contained healing powers. One of the strongest potions in the world had exactly seven phoenix tears in it. Fawkes fluttered away from Harry's arm and landed beside my leg. I sighed and closed my eyes as a sweet bliss filled me up, starting in my leg then spreading to my entire body. I opened my eyes enough to see Riddle staring at Fawkes as if he had just realized what I had realized.

"Phoenix tears…" Riddle said quietly. "Of course…healing powers…I forgot…"

He looked at Harry's face, completely ignoring the fact that I was there. "But it makes no difference. I fact, I prefer it this way. Just you and me, Harry Potter…you and me…"

He raised the wand—

There was a rush of wings, and Fawkes dropped the diary directly between me and Harry. For a spilt second, all three of us stared at it—then Harry threw his hand with the fang into the air—"NOOO!" Riddle screamed—and brought it down on top of the diary.

Ink squirted and sputtered from the cover of the book, much like blood. Riddle screamed. I didn't bother looking at him because at that moment Harry shoved the fang into my hands and I brought it back down on the diary, causing more ink to ooze out.

"Together!" Harry shouted over Riddle's screams. And he flipped open the book to a random page, and with both of our hands on the fang, he plunged the fang deep into the diary's pages. Ink exploded and Riddle gave one last dying scream. There was a blinding flash of light, and Riddle was gone. There was a gasp a little ways away from us; Harry and I turned to see Ginny standing in an upright position, looking scared and confused.

She turned her face towards us and completely broke down. "Harry—oh, Calla—it was _me_—but I—I s-swear I d-didn't mean to—R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over—and—_how _did you kill that—that thing? W-where's Riddle? The last thing I r-remember is him coming out of the diary—"

"It's alright, Ginny," I said, holding up the diary with a large hole in the middle that looked like it had been burned. "Riddle and the basilisk are gone! They can't come after you anymore, Ginny. Now let's get out of here."

Harry and I took either side of Ginny and helped her to the exit. All the while she sobbed; "I'm going to be expelled! I've looked forward to coming to Hogwarts ever since B-Bill came and n-now I'll have to leave and—_w-what'll Mom and Dad say?"_

Fawkes led the way back to rock fall. I imagine we looked rather odd; Ginny weeping hysterically, Harry dragging the sword behind him, and I clutching the Sorting Hat. We soon heard the sound odd rock scraping against rock and I saw a small hole forming at the top of the rock fall.

Harry ran ahead, calling out "Ron! Ginny's okay! We got her!" I heard Ron give a strangled cheer and his vivid red head popped out from the hole. Harry and Ginny began climbing to help finish, but I lagged behind. My mind was on what Riddle had told me.

What had he meant, when he said that I would soon be doing the job my parents had had before me? He had also seemed so certain that we would meet again. But Voldemort was dead, he was dead and he wasn't coming back. Or was he? I knew that Dad had been a Death Eater, he had told me himself so that I wouldn't have had to hear it from someone else. He had told me that he regretted it deeply and that my mother had also been a Death Eater. Did Riddle really think _I'd _turn into a Death Eater?

I glanced down to the Sorting Hat in my hands. With a last glance at the others to make sure they weren't paying attention, I slipped behind a boulder and stuffed the hat on to my head.

Almost instantly a purring voice whispered into my ear. "_Trouble, Miss Snape?"_

Yes, I thought back. I felt rather foolish doing this. I was just wondering if you put me in the right House, I thought to the old hat.

_ "Yes, you did show signs you would do well in any House…And true, being in Gryffindor would've made you have lots of friends and comfort and stability. But being in Slytherin, that's a whole other story. You will be shunned, persecuted, and hated by several. But in the end, what trials await you in Slytherin will turn you not only into a powerful witch, but also a powerful person in general. And in time, the outcast will turn into the leader."_

I took the hat off and stared at it, haunted by what it had just told me. There was a sudden flurry going on behind the boulder; they had dug through. Harry looked back at me and waved me over.

So, pushing the hat's ominous warning from my mind, I climbed the tower of rocks and followed everyone to the tunnel that would take us home.

* * *

**A/N: This makes three chapters in one day, that's a lot even for me! Well, after this there is one chapter left, which may or may not be posted tonight or tomorrow afternoon. It all depends on how tired I am and how early I wake up. Anyway, I would like to hear some of y'alls predictions on what will happen next. I have loads of ideas but I want to hear what you guys have to say. Just let me know. So, until then, talk to y'all later! :)**


	19. 19: So It Begins

We made it back to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom in one piece. She floated over to us with a rather glum expression on her face. "You're alive," She said blankly to Harry.

"No need to sound so disappointed," Harry replied grimly, pausing to wipe the muck and blood off of his glasses.

"Oh, well…I'd just been thinking…if you had died, you'd have been welcome to share my toilet," Myrtle said, blushing silver.

"Urgh!" Ron said as we left the bathroom for the dark, deserted corridor outside. "Harry, I think Myrtle's grown _fond _of you! You've got some competition, Ginny!"

But tears were still flooding silently down Ginny's face.

Fawkes led the way through the deserted corridors all the way to Professor McGonagall's office. Harry reached up and knocked and pushed open the door. For a moment there was silence as Harry, Ron, Ginny, Lockhart, and I stood in the doorway, covered in muck, slime, and in Harry and my case, blood. Then there was a scream.

_"Ginny!"_

It was Mrs. Weasley, who had been sitting crying in front of the fire. She leapt to her feet, closely followed by a tall, balding man with red hair who I could only imagine was Mr. Weasley, and both of them flung themselves on their daughter.

I noticed that Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were standing in the back, accompanied by my dad, who was wearing an unreadable expression on his face as he looked between me and Harry. Mrs. Weasley then blocked my eyesight by flinging herself on top of me and Harry and Ron, pulling us all into a crushing embrace.

"You saved her! You saved her! How did you do it?"

"I think we'd all like to know that," Professor McGonagall said weakly.

Mrs. Weasley released us. Harry and I glanced at each other, then walked up to the desk and placed the sword, the Sorting Hat, and what remained of Tom Riddle's diary on it.

We started telling them everything. For nearly a quarter of an hour we spoke to rapt silence. We ended up running over each other as we told them everything, but then we'd pause and give the other turns to speak. When we were finished, it was silent.

"Very well," Professor McGonagall prompted after we finished. "So you found out where the entrance was—breaking a hundred school rules in the process, I might add—but how did you get out of there alive?"

My voice was getting hoarse from all this talking, so Harry took over and spoke of how Fawkes got there and delivered the Sorting Hat to us. Then he paused, so far both of us had avoided mentioning Riddle's diary—or Ginny. She was standing with her head against Mrs. Weasley's shoulder, and tears were still coursing down her face. What if they expelled her? Riddle's diary didn't work anymore, how could they prove it had been _he _who'd made her do it all?

"What interests me most," Dumbledore said gently. "Is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me he is currently in hiding in the forests of Albania?"

I sighed as relief coursed over me, and I noticeably deflated.

"W-what's that?" Mrs. Weasley asked in a stunned voice. "_You-Know-Who_, enchant _Ginny_? But Ginny's not…Ginny hasn't been…has she?"

"It was this diary," I said quickly, picking it up and showing it to Dumbledore. "Riddle wrote it when he was sixteen…"

Dumbledore took it from my hands and peered at it curiously.

"But, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley said in a watery voice. "What's our Ginny got to do with—with-_him_?"

"His d-diary!" Ginny wailed. "I've b-been writing in it, and he's been w-writing back all year…"

_"Ginny!" _Mr. Weasley cried, flabbergasted. "Haven't I taught you _anything_? Never trust anything that can think for itself _if you can't see where it keeps its brain?_ A suspicious object like that, it was _clearly _full of Dark Magic—"

"Miss Weasley should go to the Hospital Wing," Dumbledore said, cutting across Mr. Weasley's rant. "This has been a terrible ordeal for her. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort," He strode over to the door and opened it. "Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate, I always find that cheers me up. You will find that Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She's giving out Mandrake juice—I daresay the basilisk's victims will be waking up any moment."

"So Hermione's okay!" Ron said brightly.

Mrs. Weasley led Ginny out, and Mr. Weasley followed, still looking deeply shaken.

"You know, Severus," Dumbledore said thoughtfully to my dad, who was still expressionless with his eyes narrowed. "I think this calls for a feast. Might I ask you to go alert the kitchens?"

Dad nodded and made a move for the door. But he paused in front of me. Two sets of black eyes met each other for a faint moment, and then Dad gave me a thin smile and a nod of approval. He strode out of the door with his robes billowing out behind him. Professor McGonagall turned to Dumbledore. "I'll leave you to deal with Potter, Weasley, and Snape, shall I?"

"Certainly," Dumbledore said.

She left and the three of us were left watching her leave. What had she meant, by Dumbledore _dealing_ with us? Surely—_surely_—we weren't about to get punished?

Dumbledore smiled at us. "It seems all three of you will receive Special Awards for Services to the School and—let me see—yes, I think two hundred points apiece for both Gryffindor and Slytherin.

"But one of us seems to be keeping mighty quiet about his part in this dangerous adventure. Why so modest, Gilderoy?"

I started. I had completely forgotten Lockhart was even there. I turned and saw that Lockhart was standing in a corner of the room, still wearing a vague smile. When Dumbledore addressed him, Lockhart looked over his shoulder to see who he was talking to.

"Professor Dumbledore," Ron said quickly. "There was an accident down in the Chamber of Secrets. Professor Lockhart—"

"Am I a professor?" Lockhart asked in mild surprise. "Goodness, I expect I was hopeless, was I?"

"He tried to do a Memory Charm and the wand backfired." I said, watching Lockhart through narrowed eyes.

"Dear me," Dumbledore said quietly. "Impaled by your own sword, I expect Gilderoy."

"Sword?" Lockhart cocked his head to the side. "Nope; haven't got one. That boy there has one though." He pointed at Harry. "He'll lend you one."

"Mr. Weasley and Miss Snape, would you mind taking Professor Lockhart to the Hospital Wing?" Dumbledore asked. "I would like a moment alone with Harry…"

Lockhart ambled out and Ron and I stepped outside to guide him to the Hospital Wing. It was a tense and uncomfortable stroll. I still remembered what Ron had said about thinking I was spying on them to get them in trouble. I could tell he was thinking about it too. Meanwhile Lockhart strolled behind us, pausing every now and then to gape at a moving picture.

We were standing a few yards from the Hospital Wing when Ron grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. Lockhart ignored us and ambled into the Hospital Wing, drawn there by the noise.

"Calla," Ron said, he looked down at his feet and looked rather guilty looking. "I'm really sorry about not trusting you and everything. If it wasn't for you, and Harry mind you, Ginny would be—" He paused, still unable to say the word "dead".

"It's okay, Ron." I said, Ron deflated at my words and looked at peace with himself. We didn't say anything else as we walked into the Hospital Wing.

* * *

It was by far the strangest feast I had ever been to. Everyone was in their pajamas and the celebration lasted all night long. Several students from Slytherin and all the other Houses, gave me odd looks. I couldn't blame them; I was still wearing my school robes, and despite having cleaned off majority of the muck, grime, and blood, there were still stained and torn. One of the best parts was when Hermione came streaking into the Great Hall towards the Gryffindor table yelling, "You solved it! You solved it!". I smiled to myself and continued eating my half-finished steak and kidney pie. There was a few minutes where everyone continued chatting and eating, then Hermione, Ginny, Harry, and Ron stepped over to where I was sitting. Ginny had invited me to sit with them at the Gryffindor table. My eyes had widened and I glanced over to where Professor Dumbledore and Dad sat. Dumbledore eyes twinkled at me and nodded; Dad looked grim and his mouth was set into a thin line, but he too nodded curtly. And so I had gotten up, ignoring all the scandalized looks I was getting from every single Slytherin, and I sat between Ginny and Hermione, where I continued eating a new steak and kidney pie.

At some point Professor McGonagall stood up and announced that exams were cancelled as a treat. Then Dumbledore stood and announced that Lockhart wouldn't be returning to teach next year. Several teachers joined in cheering about that.

"Pity," Ron said from his seat across from me. "He was starting to grow on me."

* * *

The rest of the term passed in a haze of blazing sunshine. Hogwarts was back to normal with only a few, small differences—Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were cancelled and Lucius Malfoy had been sacked from his job as a school governor. Draco no longer strutted around like he owned the place; instead he looked resentful and sulky. And on a happier note, Ginny was finally happy again.

End of term came too soon, and I found myself crammed into a compartment with Ginny, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George. We played Exploding Snap and set off the last of Fred and George's fireworks and practiced disarming each other by magic.

We were almost at King's Cross Station when Harry asked Ginny something out of the blue. "Ginny—what did you see Percy doing that he didn't want you to tell anyone?"

"Oh, that," Ginny looked at me giggling, and I remembered that day long ago during Christmas holidays. "Percy's got a _girlfriend_."

_"What?"_

"It's that Ravenclaw prefect, Penelope Clearwater," She said. "That's who he was writing to all last summer. He's been meeting her all over school in secret. Calla and I walked in on them one day _kissing_—Percy was really upset. You won't tease him will you?"

"Wouldn't dream on it," Fred said, but his face told me otherwise.

"Definitely not," George added, sniggering.

The train pulled into the station and I got off with the rest of them. I waved goodbye to all of them before heading off on my own. I managed to weave my way out of the train station and I calmly walked a few blocks away to where Dad was waiting. Judging by the look of his rumbled hair and flushed face, he had just Apparated to that spot.

"Hello Calla," He said when I got into earshot. "How was the train ride?"

"Fun," I said vaguely. He raised an eyebrow but figured out he wasn't going to get more out of me. We waited until the coast was clear, then, with my hand gripping his arm, we Apparated to Spinner's End.

And my countdown to my second year of Hogwarts began.


	20. 20: AN & Thanks

**A/N: Hazah! *throws Cheetos everywhere* Consider "The Professor's Daughter: Chamber of Secrets" offically done! Part One is finished, now on to Part Two. I right now have no idea when "The Professor's Daughter: Prisoner of Azkaban" will be up, most likely a week or so... **

**But anyway, I'd like to thank all those people who have been reading this story regardless of when you started, those people who reviewed, and all those who favorited and put this on their alert list. Thank you to everyone who even looked at this story because it sounded interesting. **

**And now without further ado, I am off to take a ten minute break, then I'll be working on the second installment in "The Professor's Daughter". So, once again, thanks. :)**


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